Diamonds, Gold and Gossip in Itaewon.

Most South Koreans have one of a handful of last names, Lee, Park, Kim, Moon, Shin or Han. In 2008 I found myself living in Seoul through my husband's job. Although I didn't enjoy it at first, I ended up meeting  lot of interesting characters and anyone who thinks Seoul is a boring city must just be a boring person themselves because it is actually unbelievable how much is actually going on! Of course there are many cities in the world with a fantastic amount of things going on and many may have a lot more than Seoul.

 Here is a little tale about one of my encounters in Seoul.

Namsan Tower

Gwangwhamun

There was no excuse for saying you were bored there because there was always a club to join or an art class to take or just coffee with an Expat friend in Itaewon. In my first 2 years there I joined as many clubs as I could and had learned to cook Spanish and Korean food, make dim sum, arrange flowers, fold napkins, you name it I took a class in it!
One of the best ways to entertain yourself is to make as many friends as possible in the Expat community and amongst local people. The area we lived in is called Itaewon where many of the foreigners from all over the world congregate. It is home to Yongsan Garrison, the biggest US army base outside the USA, Transgender clubs, a mosque, a red light district called "Hooker Hill", foreign reastaurants, clubs, bars and hotels.
When my son came to see us in 2012 he described Itaewon as "tacky" but I would go further and say it was downright grungy but that's what I found so charming about it! You could walk down the main street in Itaewon and sample cuisine from any corner of the globe, buy designer jeans for afew thousand KRW, buy diamonds, gold, Chinese clothes and jump on a bus, subway or taxi to take you anywhere in Korea! You could also hear every language on the planet being spoken by the bustling crowd congregating on the street around the make shift stalls of street vendors selling roast chestnuts , sweet potatoes, rice cakes or fishcakes.

One day when I was meeting some of my British Expat friends I discovered a jewelry shop on the high street which specialized in diamonds, gold and gossip.  While socializing with Expats who had lived in Seoul for a while, many stunning and unusual items of jewelry were worn and upon enquiry, Mrs Kim's name was mentioned so one day I went  to see where these beautiful items were from.
It was the owner of Kim's Jewelry who would go on to make my stay in Seoul so interesting. We will call the owner Mrs Kim although that wasn't her real name but it could also be any of the names above that I mentioned and it was in this jewelry shop that so many interesting stories, encounters and revelations occurred.
I came to understand that she had been in business almost 30 years, starting  out small, then she expanded and had now become one of the most popular jewelry destinations for foreigners. Kim's Gold even had their own work shop where you could get things made, remodeled and repaired. Everyone from the Filipino maids to the Ambassador's wives were amongst her clients. The array of stuff was so alluring that I found myself absolutely entranced by the glimmering gold, gems and designs. Another interesting coup by Mrs Kim was that she would sponsor every major foreign event that was held in Seoul so she would get new foreign customers almost every year.

Gwangwhamun at night.

The shop was not disappointing and the jewelry was so enticing that I soon found myself there every week and even though I couldn't buy something all the time I still went regularly. The store owner was so warm, inviting and charming that she would make me warm drinks of Korean citrus tea and Korean Maxim coffee and just lull me into buying some thing which started out small.
 I also solicited her good will when I raised about $7000 for Korean charity for the Seoul International Women's Club and she gave me a massive donation of about $500 donating just as much to the British Association and the American Women's Club as well as the Australia and New Zealand Women's Club.
Later on we seemed to become really good friends and I genuinely felt affectionate towards her as we exchanged stories about our lives, our children, our husbands and when I became obsessed with Korean dramas we discussed those. I would tell her about my travels  around Asia, Europe, the USA and England. I also loved the jewelry I bought there and treasure it to this day. Many have admired my necklaces, rings and earrings that my husband and I bought at that shop in Itaewon. Once when my husband went there to buy a ring for me she thought she would have a joke with him and showed him a ring that she said was "as big as my face"and lead him to believe that I really wanted me to have it. Eventually she showed him the ring I really wanted but we had a laugh about the monstrosity he almost bought from her!
 It was a place where many personal information and stories were exchanged. So during my years of living in this place in Itaewon it became a sanctuary where I would swap stories with Mrs Kim in the process of buying all kinds of beautiful jewelry. American soldiers would come in and tell her stories of  love, infidelity and pain. Many personal details were exchanged  along with many laughs. I felt very close to my jeweler friend. Secrets of painful things I was experiencing were divulged. I was not the only person I believe that had these experiences or this particular experience because I heard about many other stories too about people who had left Seoul already but some was just gossip about current customers.

About a year and a half after I left Seoul a message appeared on Facebook from an acquaintance questioning me about a very personal matter. I am still wondering whether it was heard from the expat community or whether my indiscreet confessions to my jewelry friend had come out. I prefer to believe it is just the rumor mill and not the gossip mill that may have come from behind the glittering gold and diamonds in Itaewon. I will always remember my friend in the best way possible where she comforted me in my time of loneliness and need of a friend in a foreign country where I found myself by chance.

Kimchi pots

Bumping into Bengalis.

I was born in Bangladesh but moved with my family to the UK when I was just 6 years old. I have always had good memories of my brief years spent in Bangladesh. It's great to think that all my relatives loved me and held me in the highest regard and talked about me with great affection. Recently I've been reflecting on how I've bumped into so many Bengalis and they've been there for me even when I was trying to avoid exposing my background.
Growing up in England, my Dad who was a pharmacist always wanted us to have a connection with Bangldesh but we never really lived in the neighborhoods in Birmingham and Manchester where the other Bangladeshi families lived. As I grew up I felt "Out of the Loop" but at the same time I was very aware that because we weren't right in the center of the Bangladeshi community we were protected from some of the community gossip and rumor mill that can happen in any community.
My sisters and I grew up in the leafy suburbs of south Manchester at a very safe distance from my fellow Bangladeshis in the ghettos of the inner city like Levenshulme and Moss Side or towns like Oldham or Rochdale. I suppose there was a feeling of superiority and pleasant feeling of distance.

 I actually felt detached from all the Bengalis around me. Although my closest friends were English girls, I remember one time I was with some young Bengali friends and I mentioned doing some thing about my English friends. There was a huge interjection from one of the boys who shouted  "No not the whites, no Englishes!"I was so taken aback because my feelings about English people did not include that type of language about English people being the "others".

After my marriage to an English guy from Leeds in Yorkshire I emigrated to the USA and felt even more distance from Bengalis. When I first came to the USA in 1985 there were not many Bengalis around at all. The first time I lived in Michigan in 1987 there were only a handful of Bengali families and one just happen to be my aunt on my Dad's side of the family.

After a brief period in California when I didn't meet one Bengali person, we returned to Michigan and again met up with my "Fufu"who was my Dad's cousin. Through her I was introduced to some Bengalis who became some of my closest friends to this day.

Some of my funniest "run ins" with Bengalis happened while I was traveling through Europe and Asia. Traveling through Italy on a family trip in 2006 and we were about have dinner at a pizza restaurant in Venice and the waiters all looked very Bengali. I didn't want to appear too inquisitive but when the young man who was asking us abut our drinks asked if  we wanted "Esphrite"instead of Sprite I instantly knew his nationality and introduced myself as a fellow Bengali. I got such a warm welcome and my whole family got preferential treatment by the staff. Whilst shopping for a scarf at the market in Florence, once informed that I was Bengali the vendor said he didn't want to charge me! I told him not be silly and paid him for it! So sweet of him!

On a visit to Singapore in 2012 where there are lot of Bengali guest workers I asked some Bangladeshis for directions. I said I wanted to walk but they said it was too far. I insisted on the walk and their reply was "Can we lend you the money for taxi if you're short of money!" I laughed my head off. Again trying to rescue me because I was a fellow Bengali.

Whilst living in Seoul I thought I was a million miles away from fellow Bangladeshis, my cousin came to visit me on a Samsung business trip and where should we end up but a Bangladeshi grocery store called the Foreign food Mart and a Bangladeshi restaurant called the Foreign Restaurant!
 My cousin was particularly amused when we met the owner of the business because his name was Sheraji Kim which was a combination of his Bengali name and in honor of his Korean wife.

The store owner's cousin owned the grocery store next door. I was totally singled out by him and treated like a princess, He said he knew that my "heart was clean" which really brought tears to my eyes some times because this was a very difficult period in my life for so many reasons. He told me he couldn't believe how many of the customers would talk to me. Well the explanation for that was simple. His shop sold foreign imported foods and all my Expat friends were in the shop so of course I was going to speak to them!
The kindness and solicitation of these Bengalis in Korea astounded me. It was people like this who I felt were my guardian angels in this city where I was a "Weiguk Saram" or foreigner. No matter how friendly Koreans are you are always acutely aware that you are a foreigner in their country.
I am in Arizona now, living in the USA for the second time in my life and again I have Bangladeshi coworkers of my husband looking after me, asking about me and feeding me.
Of course I realize no matter how much I deny my Bangladeshi back ground my fellow countrymen from the land of my birth seek me out and want to take care of me. In turn I am humbled and grateful for the love and caring that they show me. Bangladesh and Bengalis will always be a part of me, no matter how hard I've tried to get away from it.

An Expat Wife in Europe.

Our world has become a smaller and more accessible place. Flying to all corners of the earth on cheap flights and package holidays today to previously unreachable places is just a click away with the computer. Books like Lonely Planet have made ordinary folks yearn for distant shores and exotic destinations.
 Growing up in England in the 1970's I was reasonably well travelled for an average person in the UK. By the year I was married in 1984 I had already visited 4 countries but nothing prepared me for the life that was about to come and amount of travelling in my future.
After living in Michigan USA for 15 years we were suddenly transfered to Germany in 2006 by husband's employer I had absolutely no idea how drastically my life would change. I just saw it as a chance to escape my horrible job at a local attorney's office. I had absolutely no idea of what was to come and how my eyes and mind would be opened to so many possiblities in every aspect of life.

Suddenly I was living in the middle of Germany and had access to the whole of Europe. I spent the next two years meeting some incredible people that I would never have met had I stayed in Michigan. The Expat community in Frankfurt am Main was quite large. International companies such as GE, Proctor and Gamble, IBM, Samsung, General Motors as well as various international banks and Pharmaceuticals based themselves in the Frankfurt area.

I joined the American Women's Club and with them if I was given any opportunity I took the chance to travel throughout Europe on various trips to buy pottery, cooking courses and simply touring. Between 2006 and 2008 I visited at least 15 countries including Italy, Holland, Switzerland, Spain, France, Sweden, Poland and Luxemburg to name afew. That in itself is a remarkable opportunity.
After living in the USA where even a 50 year old building is considered "old" it was really humbling to experience all the history, culture, art and beauty of the countryside and architecture in Europe. I really began to admire people who value the past and do not immediately think everything from the past should be pulled down and rebuilt. Preserving the past is a duty for all f us so our children and future generations can appreciate what has come before them.
If there was a trip to an Italian or Polish pottery I was sure to sign up as they were usually very reasonably priced. I felt like if I didn't join the ladies on the trip and I had to move back to Michigan I would regret having the opportunity to travel, see another country and buy some cool objects from places like Vicenza in Italy or  Boleslawiec in Poland. I decided it was much better to do that than have to go to T.J.Maxx when I returned to Michigan. What was better than the chance to go to the actual factories where these items were being made? Infact at one factory I went to in Vicenza tnere were boxes filled with pottery that were bound for shipment to Marshalls in California!

Joining the American Women's Club of the Taunus meant we could take part in some very interesting    cooking trips to Tuscany, Italy and Provence in France. The one to Italy was based at a hotel in  Tuscany called Hotel Borgo di Cortofreda Reais in Tavernelle, Val di Pesa near Florence. From the hotel we had the most incredible views of the Chianti wine region. We were priviledged to have cooking lessons from the chefs at the hotel. We learned how to make traditional fresh pasta, sauces, meat dishes and desserts. What an amazing, unforgettable time I had! I would say it was one of the most magical times in my whole life!
I have to mention that these trips were organised by a wonderful German friend of mine and she would not only arrange for us to have a jam packed Tuscan cooking course but also visit local sights such as tours of Florence and historic homes belonging to the ancient Medici family.

San Gimignano

Some of the places we visited on the cooking tour were to San Gimignano which is a famous walled Medieval hill town in the province of Siena. We also went to the town of Siena with it's stunning black and white cathedral and the Piazza del Campo, toured all the famous spots in Florence, as well as wineries and olive oil farms.

Hotel 

One special trip AWCT took us to was to Villa Spoiano winery and olive oil farm next door to the Corte Freda hotel. It was an old Medici Mansion and run by a Swiss family which produces organic wines and organic olive oil. This hotel is still a great place to stay if you visit Tuscany.

Although I went to Italy 8 times in the course of my two years of living in Europe that first cooking trip to Tuscany stands out in my mind because it was my first visit to Tuscany and it was the confirmation of how charming and unique that part of the world really is. Of course it wasn't just the trip, the place and the opportunity to travel that makes a trip memorable but also the people on the trip and this was the case for most of my journeys with the American Women's Club of the Taunus.

The long way home.

 At the moment I live in Arizona USA. I don't feel that there is anything remarkable about me. I've been married for 30 years to one man and have 3 children. However if you start to converse with me, one thing that would stand out about me is that if I tell you where my life began, where I am now and the remarkable chances I've had to live, travel and work all over the world that is how I am a little different from most people. I was born in Bangladesh and at the age of 6 I moved to England with my family. After growing up and being educated in Manchester United Kingdom I married a man from Yorkshire.

 Unexpectedly within a year of my marriage I moved to the USA where I lived for almost 20 years.

Lanterns in Hong Kong

Then because of my husband's work in IT for a large international corporation I had the privilege of living in the USA, Germany, South Korea, England and then back in the USA.

In this blog I hope to tell you about my experiences as an immigrant of two countries, an Expat wife in Europe, a "Weiguk Saram" in South Korea and my travels across 3 continents.

Hong Kong

Hong Kong Harbour

All the views expressed in this blog are mine and any likeness to anyone or any event is purely coincidental.