Further To...............

Shoes
There are uniform scuffs worn inside at schools. These are are made of dark blue plastic with white stripes across the top. While we were waiting at the Vienna railway station to catch the train to Budapest, I noticed three young Asian men also waiting for the train, then I noticed that one of them was wearing the standard Corean school scuffs over socks. (Remember this was winter with snow every where). Once we were on the train and as they were in the same carriage I went and asked and sure enough they were all three from Seoul. Maybe wearing one's old school scuff is akin wearing the old school tie!
Apartment
Just to put you in the picture. When Colin arrived the place was in the middle of being re-wallpapered. There was a bed, wardrobe, TV and drawers. (All he had to sit on for the first few weeks was a large pack of toilet paper.) Everything was very dirty and covered in wallpaper paste. Despite four students' and one mother's cleaning for a day and Colin's cleaning for a month before I got here, when I did, I spent a week getting more crap out of the runners for the doors and scubbing all the floors. Don't think the floors had been cleaned properly since the thing was built. Looks okay now and is quite clean. We read a comment in a magazine about a newly built traditional house one can stay in. It went something like this "It's a very good place to stay as it's new and therefore still very clean" which just about sums up some people's attitude here - not all but the majority. Maintenance is a foreign idea to most.
Cheongnamdae
It turns out that one of the sculptures was done by a friend and ex-flatmate of Kieran's a couple of years ago at a sculpture symposium held there. Don't know which one he did, though. We'll try and find out. Small world - eh!