London Book Fair 2014: Helping out at the Korean booth

As a SOAS student, sometimes you get the opportunity to help out at events related to your degree – some of these times, the opportunities are pretty darn amazing.

This week I got to be part of the London Book Fair 2014 and it was an especially good year to be around since this year’s event had the spotlight on Korea and Korean writers. This was brilliant timing as I graduate this year and this was really my last chance! Maybe, the Universe knows…

I thought I’d pen a quick post to share what happened and how I ended up helping out there!

What was the work like?

It was pretty simple to do actually. I helped out on the first day so the beginning of the day was fairly straightforward with moving things around like tables and chairs.

You see these chairs? Yeah, I arranged them!

Later, I manned the booth with a fellow SOAS student – this was partly goofing off with giggles and chuckles and then partly some work like explaining what the Literature Translation Institute of Korea does.

Those orange pens twinkle!

Seoyeon was literally the best person to be around the whole day! 🙂

I think the hardest part was simply navigating through all the instructions which were mostly in Korean – at one point, I had a REALLY awkward moment when I moved coats instead of pens. That is a memory I will cherish forever. Sorry, did I mention that it was mortifying? They don’t even sound similar, Anu!

How did I get the position?

Actually, I did something very sneaky and when my friend received an email from her professor asking her students if anyone was interested, I sent one directly to her and explained that I was interested too.

I guess it pays off sending emails RSVPing to events you haven’t been invited to. *so lonely*

Do you get any compensation?

Yes, they reimburse you a little to cover your travel and food expenses – you are there for more than 10 hours though so if you’re doing it for the money, this will not be a fun experience.

Would you do it again?

Of course! I totally regret not being able to attend the other two days because I really wanted to get autographs from the writers. I did get a chance to say a quick hello on orientation day but when you see the author who made you cry like a baby while reading her book (Shin Kyung-sook seonsaengnim – HI!), it is a little hard to do small talk.

And the highlight of the day…

Was that someone could afford to pay £30 for the entrance ticket but decided it was completely okay to get reimbursed by STEALING A BOOK. I really can’t believe this book is missing – it was hilarious in a really sad way!

Your conscience is calling you!

Holi at SOAS/UCL 2014

This is a little late – but happy Holi, guys!

One of the most unique quirks of living in London is that you get to enjoy, experience and indulge in festivals from all over the world as if they are your own. Since I’ve lived in India for quite a long time, Holi has a special place in my heart but I’ve never actually played it in London because I thought it wouldn’t be popular.

Boy, was I wrong!

Celebrating Holi is quite simple – you have colours and you throw them around. If you hit a friend, all the better. If you manage to hit acquaintances, you are brave. If you hit total strangers who joined the holi festivities without a clue about it, you are a BAWS.

‘Colour you’ is a legitimate threat!

Water is frequently involved but even India has started to care about the environment and finally Indian soaps, which all have a lengthy Holi segment, make it a point to mention that they will no longer use water while playing Holi. *so proud*

I think we have folk stories of Lord Krishna playing Holi but the religious aspect of this festival is pretty much ignored nowadays, and it is simply an occasion to throw colours, get messy and if you’re adventurous, sling water balloons across a park at your nemesis.

Anyway, three of us decided to brave the Holi celebrations that were jointly held by SOAS and UCL’s Hindu Society at Gordon Square. The verdict: you can never look pretty after Holi but you can look happy!

YOLOing it at SOAS

 

It was only after the photo that I realised that leaving your hair out is a BAD idea. It took about 3 washes before I got it all out. If you have long hair, tie it up, wear a shower cap or just give it a miss!

But other than that – pretty fun!

For more photos, click here to check out the official ones on SOAS union page. If you did notice by the way, yes, my HAND and HAIR were featured in those pictures. I’m quite glad though because those really are my best features.

Chilling in London: High School Reunion (minus 1)

So back in school, I was part of this ultra-secretive cult and posse called HAT. We were far too cool to conform and we had far too much time to worry about not conforming…

Hodan jetted off to Sweden after we finished our high school exams and over time, Tosca and I drifted apart in terms of geography as well. Yes, to me Essex and Harrow are pretty much two countries.

Anyway, last Monday, Tosca and I decided to hold a small reunion and as it was just AT, we took a lot of pictures to get H all riled up! 🙂

We first went to Misato for dinner but both of us were so hungry we forgot all about pictures and just ate up a riot. But dessert has to be relished, especially if you get such beauts as these! I am probably referring to the drinks.

                                                            The poised pre-sugar pose…

We had these at Boba Jam in Chinatown, central London and it was absolutely FABULOUS! Tosca did occasionally complain that her dessert tasted too much like Mango, but then she *did* order a mango dessert. You can never be too happy.

Oh wait, you can! I made a new best friend when I met/ate Chocolate Bubble Milk and we shall be friends for eternity.

After a long heart to heart, things got real serious and photos like these started to emerge. 

                                                              This is not a sugar high!

At this point, we decided to take a break and reconvene at a later date. You see, the cult must go on!

If you need to have any cult meetings, I would recommend Misato and Boba Jam. Misato is great for Japanese food lovers on a budget and Boba Jam is your place if you need to be at a slightly pricey but delicious dessert heaven. 

검소한 학생이 만든 파전: A Thrifty Student’s Pajeon

Some days ago, my mother went to town to buy some onions and came back carrying two large sacks filled with onions. Apparently, the shopkeeper agreed to give her two bags for 50p because most of them had started sprouting and most people wouldn’t buy them anymore. The term ‘most people’ doesn’t include mum, of course!

얼마 전에 우리 어머님이 양파를 사려고 시내에 갔는데 돌아 오면서 양파가 가득 담겨 있는 커다란 봉지를 가져 왔어요. 깜짝 놀라서 왜 이렇게 많은 양파를 샀냐고 물었더니 가게 주인이 양파가 벌써 싹이 틔어서 50펜스에 다 사 버리라고 했다고요.

Anyway, we after picking out the ones that didn’t have green hippie hats, we were left with this mountain.

아이구… 우리 엄마 어떡해요? 싹이 안 틔운 양파를 다 따로 놓았지만 싹이 틔운 양파를 어떻게 하면 좋을까요?

Our sprouted onion mountain!

Then, she proclaimed that all shoots were essentially veggies and these was nothing but spring onions. I wasn’t quite convinced until she showed me that several other online bloggers had passed the same verdict.

After some back and forth on how to use them, we decided on Korean Scallion pancakes or pajeon and as always, made it as desi as possible – aka Bhaiya Indian Style.

어머니가 싹틔운 양파가 파같은 야채라고 했는데 처음에는 어머니의 말을 안 믿었지만 인터넷에 찾아 보니 다른 사람들도 파로 사용해도 된다고 했어요.

지난 주에 한국어 수업에서 파전 요리법을 배워서 마침내 그 것을  만들기로 했어요.

In Korea, pajeon is made with scallions, flour, eggs and salt. Anything else is really optional but you could add carrots, onions, kimchi juice to make it sour and pretty much anything that floats your kimchi juice boat.

한국에서는 파전은 파, 밀가루, 계란하고 소금으로 쉽게 만들수 있대요. 당근이나 양파, 그리고 신 것을 좋아하면 김치국물도 넣을 수 있지만 넣지 않아도 된다고요.

This is from Maangchi’s website- click to go there!

We pretty much had none of the things above and we’re both far too lazy to go shopping. And so we made up our own recipe as we went along. It came out pretty well, so if you have any of the ingredients (or don’t, it really doesn’t matter!), try to make it!

게으름뱅이인 우리 둘은 쇼핑하는것을 좋아하지 않아서 그냥 집에 있는 재료로 만들기로 했어요. 집에서 인도 음식을 자주 만들어서 좀 인도 스타일로 바꿨어요. 그렇지만 제 생각에는 잘 됐어요!

파전: 인도 스타일

재료: 이집트콩 가루 (병아리콩으로 만든 가루) 2 컵, 쌀가루 1/2 컵, 물 1/2 컵, 싹이 틔운 양파 100g, 고춧가루, 식용유, 소금

Ingredients: Chickpea flour (2 cups), rice flour (1/2 cup), water (1/2 cup), sprouted onions (100 g), red pepper powder, cooking oil and salt to taste.

조리 방법

1. 큰 그릇에 물, 이집트콩 가루, 쌀가루, 고춧가루, 소금을 넣고 잘 반죽해 두세요.

In a large bowl, put in the some water, chickpea flour, rice flour (to make it crispy), red pepper powder and salt and mix well.

Put in all the ingredients first so you don’t forget any!

It should look like this when you’re done!

2. 양파는 씻어서 길게 썰어 놓으세요.

Wash the onions and cut them into long pieces. Take off any wilted bits as they will be bitter.

Make sure you wash them!

3. 프라이팬에 기름을 넣고 기름이 뜨거워지면 파를 분산해서 넣으세요.

In a heated pan, add some oil and after it is hot enough, spread out the onions.

Spread out the onions so they get a chance to be cooked a little bit

4. 잠깐 후에 반죽해 놓은 재료를 프라이팬에 얇게 펴서 부치세요.

After a little bit, pour the batter into the pan in a thin layer.

Try and get it in between and top of the onions.

5. 한쪽 면이 익으면 잘 뒤집어 다른 쪽도 익히면 됩니다.

Once one side is cooked, flip the pancake and cook the other side.

이제 다 완성됐어요! 맛있게 드세요.

All done – it is time to eat!

Pajeon: Bhaiya Indian Style

All fried things in India tend to be accompanied with tomato ketchup on lazy days. Try it!

Where on earth was I?

I am definitely not important (or rich) enough to be kidnapped, so I was obviously shirking from my blogging responsibilities a little bit – sorry! Somehow, it got really busy this past few weeks and between work, studying and trying to be social, I lost track of a lot of things… like this blog, for instance.

Work has been hectic but Uni is of course worse. I recently snagged the position of Treasurer in Team Up, which means I’ve had to relearn my responsibilities – though to be honest, due to some *cough* problems, we’re not quite sure what is happening most of the time so right now, I’m just learning to go with the flow.

 

Here are some of us recruiting for potential tutors to teach in our programme. GO US! 🙂

Then, came Japanese Literature – we moved on from one writer to another and WOW the difference is amazing. I am hoping to write my opinions on each one next week to both revise and get some thoughts out there. Sometimes, I end up reading something, thinking to myself, “Oh, well, that’s nice…” and move on – and I’m pretty sure that is exactly what you’re NOT supposed to do with Literature!

Korean is hectic as always and if you’ve been using *stealing* my Quizlet vocabulary lists, then you know it has been a big five weeks! I’m really glad reading week is just around the corner now…

And then, there was me trying to be social. Pretty much everyone knows it is hard to wrench me away from my books or work but I managed to do it this year. The most memorable outing was definitely the recent SOAS Korean Society event: Pansori Night. A group of amazing performers joined us after travelling all the way from Korea and gave us a night of real joy!

When we got to take pictures together, they found it rather amusing that we were about double their height (I may or may not be cheating with heels…). That really brought back memories from Japan and Korea! GOOD TIMES! 🙂

 

Eszter managed a far more elegant smile – I was just excited about holding that, urm, thing! 

Both the Korean and Japanese Society at SOAS this year have been really productive – lots of events have been happening and thankfully they’re all on days that I am at SOAS (WIN!)

The other amazing event that comes to mind was the KSoc Picnic – with RUNNING MAN! I was too busy running and heaving and dying of shortness of breath to take pictures then, but I managed to get a picture of one of the outdoor games.

And now, you’ve all been officially caught up with me! Keep an eye out for more posts this weekend and across reading week!

First Impressions

I’m now 3 days into starting classes again and so far, it has been both daunting and exciting. The lessons I took are somewhat advanced and difficult but to be honest, I think they are really manageable (with a ridiculous amount of work outside of class of course!).

My first lesson was the Higher Int. Korean Reading on Monday – which really wasn’t too hard except for the new words introduced. I pick up words really quickly if I learn them within a reading so it was fairly simple – it does require a lot of homework and preparation though because we go through a chapter in less than two hours a week! And apparently, it gets harder… EXCITING STUFF! At first, I thought I wouldn’t be able to cope, especially as there were people who had passed Level 4 and 5 of TOPIK already, but I think it is completely doable!

On the very same day, I had Intermediate Korean which was really strange because the level drop was ridiculous! I was learning stuff that I was already pretty comfortable with and to be honest, I think this will be a repeat of last year where I wasn’t motivated to do any work because it was far too easy. I think the stuff we covered in the Korean University was far more advanced and I wish there was another class where I wouldn’t have to wait for stuff to get harder. I’ve looked through and tried some of the new book as well, so I don’t think it’s going to happen very soon unfortunately. I considered changing but then realised, of all my classes this year, this will probably be the easiest. Considering that this is my last year, I should probably just calm down my crazy and work on the rest!

I think there are two or three of us doing the same Korean courses so instead of making two separate Quizlet sets, I just decided to have weekly sets consisting of both – you’re welcome to use it!

http://quizlet.com/26856174/w1-l26-ck-l1-rr-flash-cards/

Tuesday was the day I was both dreading and looking forward to. Both my advanced Japanese lectures are on Tuesday and while I was worried before, I think with some extra work, they should be fairly easy too! Both require watching/reading authentic Japanese material but they give you the material beforehand to prepare before class and the lecturers seem really supportive so I am not too bummed at all.

Still in the middle of making a Quizlet for our first text which is 私by 谷崎. Really excited about tackling this – the only problem so far is that some of the words/kanji are now outdated so it is a bit of a shame!

Every now and then, my friend and I wonder if not going to Japan was a good idea since we both opted out in the last hour. If I can cope with these lessons somehow, I will be glad I didn’t go – I pretty much do the same courses with one less year of tuition fees: WIN!

Oh, I hope I pass!

How I get distracted (and what I do to prolong the distraction!)

For most people, living with their mother during their school days would have meant a constant tirade of nags and shoves to ‘study more’ and ‘make them proud’. This is especially true if you are Asian. And from a family of science graduates.

I was most definitely an exception. The day before my GCSE English exam, my mother suggested we watch Lord of the Rings from the beginning because she had never seen it. Before my University exams, we watched 3 Idiots – a really famous, hilarious Hindi movie. Yesterday, she suggested I stopped revision for some time so she could go through my Facebook and send her help for her Candy Crush Saga game. I hope you get the extent of my mother’s exceptional attitude to studying.

Though I must add – anything less than a 100% and I’ll get asked where the rest of the marks went.

So, while I study for my ‘close-to-100-but-not-quite-as-good marks’, I do have the occasional grand door opening and announcement that I simply have to come out and see how well she has cleaned the kitchen.

I do complain a lot about it but to be honest, if she didn’t drag me out once in awhile to see how well she cook she cooked the lentil soup, I would probably never get out of my room. So, darling mother, your distractions are welcome (sometimes!).

Here is what I do when I am dragged out of the JapKo cave unwillingly.

1. Listen to really old Hindi songs. And sing along (this part is important!).

We have a really bad habit of catching songs like infectious diseases from each other – a good song lasts at least a month in our household and then may exist for another month or so with our own remixes – Mallu style, dance style, Andy-from-BGT-style (see below if you don’t know that reference!) and so many others.

2. Eat. A lot.

We do a lot of this activity. We’re both pretty content with eating South Indian food all day, every day. Every now and then, we get cravings to have a South Indian breakfast. And so, Dosha time is announced. If you haven’t tried, get your dosha-deprived asses to a South Indian restaurant in Wembley or East Ham in London and get some!

3. Make fun of people

My father claims this trait is genetic – passed down maternally. We find great pleasure in finding faults and laughing – but with no mean feelings. Can’t you just see our halos?

 

Now, I’m off to her bedroom to see if she will make me some food. It is my time to distract her from her Candy Crush Saga addiction.

I guess that is what daughters with zero cooking skills and an insatiable hunger are for…