November 16th 2008 - Sushiwa

November 16th 2008

Autumn has arrived

And now the cold begins .... We still have some nice days and it hasn't been seriously cold yet, but the forecast for next week now brings us temperatures down to 1 degree at night and only 11-12 degrees during the day. Our household is a little divided on this issue, as many of you will know. Paula is happy as can be while I would like to fast forward to the snow, so I can go skiing, and then fast forward again until summer after a few days !

It's funny how things have quieted down here. We don't really notice it much until we have to write our weekly report here. We blame it on the French (as always !! hehe ..) as the majority of the foreigners here at the moment are French ! Many of the women don't speak English, so it is a little difficult for Paula and me to make the contact, as our French is still at a very rude level ! I am not sure that we would like to be friends with the people who will listen to our French vocabulary - i.e. mainly swearwords!

I have spent a few days writing next months column in the local expat magazine. I have a monthly column there and now I have to write two months ahead, as we will be traveling for the December deadline. Last month's column about Japan can be seen here.

Saturday I went biking with Ingo. Unfortunately he had to turn around after about an hour with a mechanical problem, so I continued on my own. I have had some problems with my knee this last week and I blame it on NOT going cycling last weekend (it was raining all weekend). The cycling does really sort out my knee.

In the evening we met up with Jose and my colleague Carlos for a couple of beers and sushi. Our favorite sushi buffet restaurant changed owners a while back and we hadn't been back since. So we dropped in and although the buffet was gone, the food was still very nice and the atmosphere ten times better. And so we had a good evening, glorifying everything Japanese ! (Paula, Jose and me are Japan's biggest fans!)

Today I sneaked out of the house in the morning to play volleyball with the Russian mob. I am sure that in a few months I will be fluent in Russian. Today I was the only one out of 12 people who didn't speak Russian. I don't mind - it would be pretty nice to know a bit of Russian. My friend and former colleague Serhiy has already taught me a few words, but since he changed office (he is now working for our sister company, Lauritzen Bulkers) my improvement has stalled. After the volley Paula and I drove out to Ulsan grand park to get out and walk a little bit. The colors are amazing at the moment and with the day at a pleasant 20 degrees, the park was full.