Surge Magazine 2015

Summer 2015www.surgemag.org

SURGE travel magazine

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RGE travel m

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MER 2015

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Cycling ArgentinaA bike ride at the end of the world

Teach in AsiaThe how-to guide

Sense of adventureTravelling with a disability

INDONESIA + ROMANIA + SCOTTISH HIGHLANDS + ROCKY MOUNTAINS

FREE

OUR photographer Brian Hammonds took this image in Göreme, a historical town in the Cappadocia region of Turkey. The region is known around the

world as one of the best places to fly in hot air balloons. Rock formations make up the surrealist landscapes of Cappadocia, with pigeon houses and churches carved into the rock, along with naturally occurring “fairy chimneys” (tall, thin spires of rock protruding from the bottom of a slope). The balloons float through impressive valleys, each with its own distinctive rock formations, colours and features, making for breathtaking views over the region.

THERE’S an itch, niggling away in the back of your mind. No matter how many mountains you climb or sunsets you witness, it

remains. Until it’s scratched, and you’re on the road again.

All we can do, the world’s lucky few who have the chance to travel the world, is infect others with our passion.

SURGE travel magazine aims to do just that. If we’re lucky, this issue will inform, inspire and entertain you, with experiences, interviews and honest travel journalism.

A microcosm of Scotland’s capital, half of us are British and even fewer are bairns of Auld Reekie itself. We’re Scottish, English, Irish, French, Spanish, Portuguese, Romanian and Mexican. There’s even a Dundonian. Some were raised abroad, in places such as Shanghai or Singapore. Others have taught in Asia, au-paired in Italy, or chalet-girled in France.

In this issue we search for a mythical cave in the Highlands, traverse Patagonia by bicycle and show you one way to travel the world carbon neutral. We find out why people are exploring Paris using a map of Berlin and show how one woman’s disability gives her a unique travel perspective.

There’s also life outside these pages at www.surgemag.org, where you’ll find everything from abandoned Chinese amusement parks to the legendary death of a totally fictitious Dublin priest.

As Saint Augustine said: “The world is a book, and those who do not travel read only a page.” Hopefully, reading this cover to cover could be a start.

Editor’s Letter Editor Tom Crosby Deputy Editors Mariana Mercado Vanessa Kennedy Production Editor Greg Barrie Production Team Carolina Morais Philip Askew Chief Subeditor Lauren Beehan Subeditors Paul Hyland Adam Wilson Charlotte Barbour Distribution Manager Marion Guichaoua Fundraising Manager Arantxa Barrachina Advertising ManagerPaul Malik Online Editor Madalina Dichiu Picture Editor Mariana Mercado

Tom Crosby

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Ham

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dsContributors

Story of the cover

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Contents Summer 2015

Culture: Happy graveyard

Interview: Murray Buchan

Cycling: On the road

Interview: Disabled travelling

Work: Teaching in Korea

Cuisine: Authentic China

Discover

Edinburgh’s secrets p6

Romania’s unique graveyard p8

Trains in the modern era p10

Adventure

Experiences of an Olympic skier p14

Indonesian volcano climbing p16

Cycling in Argentina p18

One climber’s journey p22

Reflect

Travelling carbon neutral p26

Concept of psychogeography p28

Search for a Highland hideout p32

Travelling with a disability p34

Expectations and realities p36

Live

Learning a language abroad p40

Au-pairing in Italy p42

Teaching in Asia p44

Eat Traditional Iberian food p50

Authentic local Chinese cuisine p52

The Last Word

Where is home? p54

Discover

Jirisan, the highest mountain on the South Korean mainland

Image: Jasper Meddock

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SURGE MAGAZINE | DISCOVER

IT is famously observed that when Scottish writer Robert Louis Stevenson created the split personality of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde, he was describing the dichotomous nature of the Scottish capital. For an Edinburgh native,

stumbling upon hidden or previously unnoticed pubs, gardens or closes around the city may be a rare occurrence, but it is possible. But be warned. Before losing yourself among the cobbled labyrinths, be prepared to leave part of your heart there too. Because once found, these gems can never be forgotten.

Armchair Books 72-74 WestportQuite unlike any other bookshop in the city, Armchair Books in the greater Grassmarket advertises itself as a place of “Victorian illustrated and second-hand books”. But upon entering, the visitor discovers that it is so much more than that. With a towering maze of books from all over the world, its musky-scented, oriental-rugged, low-lit charm makes it one in which you wouldn’t mind becoming lost.

Dunbar’s Close Garden 137 Canongate

Instead of leading to another street or a set of weathered stairs- which are a common sight on the Royal Mile - the end of Dunbar’s Close is home to a beautiful Victorian garden. Built in the late nineteenth century by Sir Patrick Geddes, a Scots biologist who lived on the Royal Mile at the time, the gardens are kept in pristine condition and provide a place of solitude just a few metres from the hustle and bustle of Edinburgh’s most tourist-filled street.

Edinburghunseen

Words and images: Charlotte Barbour

Springvalley Gardens MorningsideHidden down a side street in Morningside is something a little bit wild. An architectural relic from the 90s, a “Wild West” themed street lies abandoned. Believed to be built to publicise a furniture business, the street, which includes a “blacksmith”, a “jail” and a “saloon bar” now lies largely dilapidated, but for one who wishes to experience the sometimes bizarre – yet always amazing – unpredictability of the city, it is well worth a visit.


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IN Săpânța – a village hidden in the north of Romania, filled with twisted humour

– lies the Happy Cemetery, or Cimitirul Vesel, a place where laughter blends with darkness.

Every Sunday, villagers gather here to attend the service at the Church of the Assumption. This magnificent local church is behind the Happy Cemetery, where more than 800 tombs, beautifully coloured with blue crosses, catch your eye.

At first, the cemetery might seem an odd place to visit, but go there with an open mind and you will discover the uniqueness of the place.

The engravings on the wooden crosses are a tradition started in 1935 by Stan Ion Pătraș, who carved the first cross. Some of them have images that show scenes from the deceased’s life (women with animals behind them), while others illustrate how the

person died (a woman hit by a car, see below). Some of the scenes may seem innocent, but looking closely, they say a lot about the person’s life.

The crosses are not complete without a small poem, which seems to be a message for those left behind. They usually reveal funny details about the deceased’s character. One proclaims: “I’ve lived 40 years in this life, and all I did was look after the chickens, I had plenty of time to rest.” Another bears the legend: “Under this heavy cross lies my poor mother-in-law. If she comes back home she’ll criticise me even more.”

The Happy Cemetery is the place where people look death in the eye and are not afraid to talk about it. It is where the villagers and visitors can understand the meaning of life and death. This is one cemetery where the visitor may very well leave with a smile on their face.

Words: Madalina Dichiu Images: Dinu Lazar and Razvan Pascu

The bright sideof death

In one Romanian cemetery, death doesn’t always mean sorrow

Graves in Cimitirul Vesel, Săpânța

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Inverness and Fort William), known as the Deerstalker. The route there is stunning, travelling over aqueducts and famous lochs, although keep in mind that getting around the train itself can be difficult as the carriages are a little cramped. Tickets start at £39.50.

Travelling through Europe, if you are eager to see as many countries as possible, rail is probably your best bet – especially if you choose to invest in an InterRail ticket early. This gives you unlimited access to train travel across most EU countries for a given amount of time (from five days to a month). You can also buy a ticket for unlimited rail travel in a single country except in

your country of residence, where unfortunately you will have to buy normal tickets like everyone else. A month-long InterRail pass starts at £44 for a single country, and £359 for a global pass.

If you’re after something exceptional, you might consider taking a journey on the longest single train line in the world, the Trans-Siberian Railway. Connecting Moscow and Western Russia to Vladivostok on the Sea of Japan, it spans seven time zones and takes almost a week. The route is really the only way to experience the full immensity of the Russian wilderness, and the miles and miles of trees and tundra, while you stay warm inside your carriage with a hot drink. Prices for the whole journey start at £100.

Trains across China and India also push boundaries, not just in length but also in the sheer number of people involved. As a result, if you’re taking a three-day sleeper from Shanghai on the eastern coast to the western border, you can be guaranteed something interesting is going to happen on the way, and it is going to happen in your carriage. You do get what you pay for, and with some tickets costing £30-40, some sacrifices have to be made (privacy, peace, etc.). But what a journey it can be. Maybe your neighbours will have a protracted row with whoever used the toilet last over the state they left it in. Maybe the guard will play Ratatouille on his laptop at full volume in the corridor at three in the morning. A word of warning though: before embarking, make sure you’re comfortable with the toilets just being holes in the bottom of the carriage, or you’re going to have an uncomfortable trip.

ONCE upon a time, taking the train was the most popular mode of mass transportation. While the introduction of high-speed

rail means that it is making a comeback, budget airlines have made getting anywhere in the world convenient and affordable. But the best way to get to know a foreign country is to go through it rather than over it, with the added luxury of beautiful scenery, full catering and (hopefully) interesting company. And if you’re going to go through it, you may as well do so in style.

How much style exactly depends on where you are in the world. In Scotland, Serco now runs the overnight Caledonian Sleeper train between London and the Scottish Highlands (Aberdeen,

“The best way to get to know a foreign country is to go through

it rather than over it”

On the railsIn the age of cheap and frequent flights, what does train travel still have to offer?

Words: Philip Askew Image: Petar Milošević

Nazyvayevsk Station in Siberia

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Adventure

Image: Murray Buchan

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surgemag.org SURGE MAGAZINE | ADVENTURE

take place. The beautiful Breckenridge, Colorado, is where Murray spends a lot of his time training, but there are other resorts he holds in high regard.

“There are two places that stand out for me in all the years I have travelled. The first is Norway... I went in the summer to ski on a glacier in a place

called Folgefonna, about two hours from Bergen. It was one of the most beautiful places I have ever been. I was there for two weeks and I loved every minute. We regularly went swimming in the sea after skiing and it was a great experience.

“The second place that stood out for me was Russia. It was the most memorable experience of my life. I was there for the Winter Olympics and it

was incredible. It was such a surreal experience. I had never competed at such a big event before so everything was so new and exciting… The stadiums and arenas were much bigger than I had ever seen before.”

While travelling to spectacular resorts and skiing for a profession is a dream come true for Murray, he admits that the amount of time he spends away from home can be difficult: “The year of qualification (2014) was the least time I had spent in the UK in my whole life. In total I was home maybe three months. I found it pretty difficult as a lot of my good friends are at home, as are my dogs.”

However, Murray happily admits that competing at the highest sporting level for a living, and travelling the world in the process, is more than a fair trade for a small dose of homesickness.

Check Murray out at: murraybuchan.com

“I messed up my second run on my second air. I lost my

concentration momentarily and it cost me a good score”

Training in Breckenridge, Colorado

AS an eight year-old boy donning ski boots for the first time, Murray Buchan can scarcely have imagined that a few years

down the line he would be trading Edinburgh’s dry ski-slope at Hillend for the snowy mountains of Colorado, USA.

In fact, after his first couple of trips up to the UK’s largest artificial slope, Murray was not sure that he ever wanted to wear skis again. As he sits and reflects on the World Championship and Winter Olympic events that he has competed in during the past year, he’s glad that he persisted with the sport.

As his fondness for skiing grew, so did the attention Murray received from fellow skiers at Hillend. He became a well-known face on the

Piste by pisteWinter Olympian Murray Buchan speaks exclusively to SURGE about the highs and lows of professional skiing

slope by performing tricks that most adults would be proud of before he was even a teenager.

To those who knew Murray back in his early years of skiing, it will come as no surprise that he has gone on to compete at the highest level. What they may also have predicted is that Murray continues to be his own harshest critic in the continuous quest for improvement.

January’s World Championships in Kreischberg, Austria, saw him take part in his first competitive event since he underwent several surgeries, but

there was no sign of excuses in his assessment of the contest.

He said: “Unfortunately the World Championships didn’t go quite as well for me as I’d hoped. The conditions were really good and I was feeling very positive the night before the competition. I was slightly nervous, but nerves are a good thing.

“The night of the contest, training went well and I was feeling good. But sadly on my first run my amplitude was good but I had missed the majority of my grabs, which cost me a lot with the scoring. My second run wasn’t much better. I messed up my second run on my second air. I just lost concentration and it cost me a good score.”

However, even with his weaknesses, the event wasn’t a waste of time: “As a whole, the competition could have gone a lot better, but it was really good to see where I was against the rest of the field after just coming back from two surgeries this summer.”

After enduring a frustrating period away from skiing, Murray is delighted to be back on the road. And who can blame him? Among the perks of being a professional skier are the stunning settings in which both training and competition

Words: Greg Barrie Images: Murray Buchan

“Among the perks of being a professional athlete are the

stunning settings in which we train and compete”

Practising flips in Austria

SURGE MAGAZINE | ADVENTURE

for six. Going from seeing one or two stars in a city to giant glistening clusters enveloping the night sky made the trip worthwhile all on its own.

The climb to the summit has been described as one of the toughest physical and mental challenges a hiker can face. The last 1000m is a narrow ridge with a steep slope of very loose scree. You take one step up, you slip two steps down. It is very, very hard. We passed guides who were being carried by their teams, and some who just couldn’t go on. Yet Madil was powering through, like the legend he is, encouraging us the whole way.

The tropical climate we enjoyed on our initial ascent had turned to sub-zero temperatures with wind battering us from all sides. It didn’t help that the sun wasn’t even teasing the horizon yet. But we persevered. We reached the top right before sunrise. The reward was sensational. Weary spirits were uplifted, aching muscles eased as hikers at the summit sat and watched Rinjani’s vast crater slowly fill with morning sunlight.

Our descent was relatively easy, but involved climbing down to the lake, and back up to the rim on the opposite side. There we set up our final

camp of the trek (well, the porters we paid for did, at least), and enjoyed stunning views of the surrounding landscape and of Bali, which is just across the way.

My advice is simple: take hiking boots, and warm, windproof and waterproof clothing. The first half of the climb is warm, but night is cold, and the higher you go the colder the air. Most importantly though, if you ever find yourself on this incredible volcano, keep your spirits up, stay positive, and think of the beautiful nearby Gili islands waiting for you upon your descent.

Descending from the crater rim, approx 2,700m above sea level

I reassured myself. I wasn’t wrong.

The first thing to do was find a guide. We had to rely heavily on online reviews of people’s experiences with their

guides and in the end these proved hugely valuable. After some research on prices and packages, our chosen guide was Madil, a native of Lombok

who climbed Rinjani so often he could do it in flip-flops.

Madil explained our itinerary: we would be going the opposite way to most people. We’d reach the crater rim at the end of the first day, approximately 2,700m up, and make the ascent to the summit at 2am the next morning.

Rinjani’s crater is home to a stunning turquoise lake that hikers enjoy as a backdrop to each evening’s camp. What’s more, the sheer number of stars visible at night knocks you

I’VE never been a fan of hiking. When my uber adventurous travel partner suggested we

make our upcoming holiday to Indonesia a tad more interesting by hiking a volcano, I was sceptical.

The volcano in question is the 3,726-metre-high Mount Rinjani on the Indonesian island of Lombok. The hike would take three days: three days away from Lombok’s exquisite beaches, which made the idea harder to swallow. But it would be a great experience,

“We passed guides... some who just couldn’t go on”

Conquering Rinjani

A reluctant hiker takes on an Indonesian volcanoWords: Paul Hyland Image: Rosamond Clay

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THE end of the world is actually a fairly hospitable place. It’s just not the best choice of location to begin an epic 4,000km

bike ride across Patagonia, from the South American Cape Horn to Argentina’s capital of Buenos Aires.

Ushuaia is the southernmost city on Earth. It clings to the foot of Tierra del Fuego, behind snow-capped mountains and battered by perpetual gale force winds. It defies the odds to function as a tourist Mecca and a busy, if belligerent, naval base and port. For all that Patagonia is, it is not cycling country.

Three men were to take the trip. Three men who had met on the Korean English teaching circuit; Michael Hall, an experienced cyclist and fitness addict, Tom Ashton, a fluent Spanish speaker, and myself, who just like Tom, was a rookie in the saddle.

We unpacked and rebuilt our bikes under falling spring snow, before dragging them through the mountain passes that surround the city. We headed north, on the only road, into the stark beauty of the Patagonian landscape.

Cycling in Patagonia is best defined by the wind and the loneliness. Tiny towns are dotted hundreds of kilometres apart, like oases in

a desert. You carry all the food you can, and camp in whatever cover is available. Ghostly dying forests, abandoned farmhouses, or even pipes under the road transform themselves into adequate shelter. Unchecked, the wind blasts the skin from your face and slows you to a crawl, even on the downhill.

The first month was like a military exercise. Wild camping, war rations and very early starts became the norm. It pushed us, hard. Michael didn’t need me throwing my helmet to the floor every time we stopped, usually to eat lunch while cowering from the wind in a ditch. None of us needed the sheer weight of Tom’s bike to relegate him to the mind-numbing position of our peloton’s rear guard throughout the journey.

All troubles were forgotten as we watched

the Perito Moreno glacier creak and crack, with chunks of ice the size of boulders falling into the surrounding lakes like stones into a pond.

The turning point came when we reached the tourist town of San Carlos de Bariloche. After a week of recovery in its pseudo-Germanic landscape, things became, quite simply, glorious.

With the wind at our backs and hitherto undiscovered muscles in our legs, we flew. The scrub deserts of northern Patagonia seemed to melt away under our tyres. We crossed hundreds of kilometres through the night, on astoundingly flat roads, wearing nothing on top but high-viz jackets and with LEDs strapped to every other exposed surface. Seeing the moon rise and set high above Rio Negro province will stay with me forever.

It took only a couple of weeks for us to cross the country from west to east, hitting first Bahía

Blanca and then The Plate. The further into civilisation we got, the more we tried to avoid it.

We were now passing three or four towns a day, sticking to the smallest roads, which carried the least freight.

In Cabildo, a village somewhere in La Plata province, the Mayor, wearing just his boxer shorts, greeted us. He let us sleep in the fire station. We were interviewed by local TV and radio and slept like truckers behind petrol stations and in town plazas. Edging, bit by bit, towards the capital.

And suddenly, it was done. After two months travelling and five to six weeks of solid cycling, we slid into the decaying colonial splendour of Buenos Aires under the cover of a rainstorm.

I left a month later, to pursue a career at home. Tom travelled South America for months before finally returning to the UK. And Mike, well Mike stayed. He taught English for a while and might still have been there now, had Australia not called in late 2014.

For all the hardship, pain and glorious scenery, there’s still talk of doing it all again, in Cuba, later this year. We’ve heard there’s less wind, apparently. Although there could be more hurricanes. We’ll keep you posted.

“The wind slows you to a crawl, even on the downhill”

From the end of the Earth

Three men on an epic bicycle journey across Argentina

“We wore nothing on top but high-viz jackets and LEDs”

Words: Tom Crosby Images: Michael Hall and Tom Ashton

The road to Perito Moreno Glacier, Patagonia, Argentina

San Carlos de Bariloche

The road out of UshuaiaTom Ashton &

Michael Hall

A spider, Rio Negro ProvinceWild boar sign,

Rio Negro ProvinceDarwin Town Sign, Rio Negro Province

Argentina biking Tips and tricks

Luxuries:• Touring Bike – I chose the

Revolution Country Traveller from the Edinburgh Bike Co-operative. The more you pay the better, but £400-£500 will get you just about anywhere.

• Two Panniers – Two big waterproof panniers, with a polythene bag on the pannier rack in between for your tent and food etc. Front wheel panniers are clumsy and needless.

• Inflatable Roll Mat (Half Size) – Okay, so it’s not essential, but these days they are small and light. You’ll thank me for it.

• Travel Cooker – This should attach directly to the top of the gas canister. Small and vital.

• Hooked Bungee Cords – If you have a couple, buy a couple more. They are genius.

• Tent – One-man preferably, as light as possible. You’ll savour the privacy.

• One Pan & Two Mess Tins • High quality multi-tool• SPD Pedals and Shoes

Getting ThereBike boxes are huge cardboard creations in which bicycles are shipped worldwide. They are the most efficient way to get your bike out of the country. The best part is bike shops give them away for free. All you have to do is ask. Once you have removed the front wheel, collapsed the handlebars and wrapped the box in industrial strength sticky tape, it’s ready and you’re good to go.

Most airlines count a bicycle as sports/musical equipment, so they can be checked in just like skis, golf clubs or a double bass. There’s usually a fee involved, although some airlines don’t charge as long as it falls under a certain weight. Expect the cost to be anywhere between £30 and £80. You may also have to pay again if you are changing flights. Airline policies can differ, so be careful.

Vital Supplies:

Vaseline

A Sense of Humour

Top Tips• Comeequipped. Make

sure you have a cycling multi-tool to hand when you land, in case you’re rebuilding your bike at the airport.

• Makespace.Store additional bulky gear, like your tool kit or helmet, in the box too.

• Keepweightdown.Travel light. This means clothes, kit, tent- everything. Take only bare essentials and buy the lightest equipment you can find. My whole bike and gear was less than 30kg. Easily.

• Cheatinghappens. Not the whole world is bike-able. We took a few buses here and there when things got drastic: biking 4,000km and bussing about 600km more.

• Changehandpositionsregularly. This prevents nerve damage and reduces the inevitable long bouts of pins and needles in your fingers. A good set of cycling gloves is vital.

A bike box, in all its glory

A bicycle multi-tool. Sadly no SMS

The route up Argentina. The straight line is by bike, the dotted line by bus.

The llama sign: Michael Hall and the dangers of local wildlife

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of the emotional and physical demands that come with outdoor climbing. For him, rock climbing and mountaineering in general have a significant spiritual component. He says it is “a continuation of the Romantic movement. It involves the ideas of Coleridge, Wordsworth and Russo on the love of nature, the perfect life, the perfect existence.”

Richard has always been interested in climbing, but it is not his only love. Music is Richard’s other passion. This funk-master flute virtuoso has conquered all kinds of climbs: from touring the world with a jazz group, to, more recently, being awarded a Ph.D. in Composition and subsequently teaching at university level. If that wasn’t enough, Richard is also a Pilates instructor who likes running and jumping off rocks into deep water, and yet, oddly enough, he sometimes prefers the quiet and calm of building model airplanes.

He remembers a time when music and climbing were parts of the same thing. Back in the 80s and 90s – when Richard endured his toughest climbs – he was touring as a member of the jazz group Groove Collective. He exploited his responsibility over the band’s tour schedule to coordinate it with his climbing trips. “I climbed in Austria and then had to catch a train through to Budapest so that I could catch up with the band who’d already got there. I once was climbing in Colorado and these guys gave me a lift back and dropped me off just in time for the end of sound-check before the show.”

Being a musician limited Richard to living in big cities, mainly New York, so he was forced to find climbing spots

in unconventional places. He regularly climbed an overhanging boulder he’d found at the edge of Harlem, and

someone began calling it the “Worthless Boulder” as a joke on his name. Richard smiles at this: “I kept climbing there, but nobody would go because of the junkies and needles. But soon after, the park got cleaned up and became much less problematic and so loads of people started climbing there.”

Worthless Boulder is now a recognised rock within the climbing community.

Richard’s experience can be very intimidating. Here is a man who could be justifiably arrogant about his achievements, yet he is very friendly, accessible and eager to share his knowledge with others. His advice for absolute beginners is to start indoors in a bouldering room. “Just climb and don’t worry about levels of difficulty. Climb and realise that your feet will take loads of your weight, even on the smallest holds. It won’t take long before you realise you are doing something pretty cool.”

Over the page: After being inspired by Richard, SURGE writers Adam WIlson, Vanessa Kennedy and Paul Hyland give bouldering a try for themselves. Turn over to find out how they got on...

“No one else would climb there because of the junkies and

needles”

Richard Worth climbing at Fontainebleau

Hold onWords & illustration: Mariana Mercado Images: Lauren Porter (top right) and Ewan John (bottom right)

For lifelong climber Richard Worth, bouldering is a spiritual experience

Rock climbing is emerging as the preferred activity for adventurers and thrill-

seekers. It is a discipline that combines the exploration of the world with a deep examination of one’s own limits. Often, those who venture into the limit of their reach must face the raw power of nature – beautiful, immense, terrifying

and deadly – and stand face-to-face with what Schopenhauer called the sublime: the immensity of the Universe and the pleasure and horror derived from the knowledge of one’s own insignificance.

Richard Worth is no stranger to the sublime. With more than 36 years of climbing experience, he has seen the world in ways that most of us will probably only read about. Through climbing in places such as New York State, California, France, Italy, Spain, Germany, Austria, Hungary and Japan, Richard has earned a unique understanding

“Climbing involves the Romantic ideas

on the love of nature, the perfect life”

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I had some previous experience with rock climbing, albeit when I was around 13. That one PE trip ended with rivers of sweat falling from my red puffed-up face and the inability to lift my chubby arms after only five minutes on the wall.

Despite flashbacks to a painful adolescence, I was looking forward to the opportunity to try bouldering again. I am in no way the fittest of individuals, so I’ve been looking for a tough, but fun, way to be active. And after this experience of bouldering, I wanted to get back on the wall as soon as I got off. The experience made me realise how accessible the activity is, and I’ll definitely look for classes in Edinburgh.

My reaction when I first thought about bouldering? Fear. How could climbing with no ropes or harness possibly be fun? And what happens if, by some miracle, I reach the top? How on earth do I manage to clamber back down unscathed?

Despite my reservations, I gave it a go, and contrary to my first impression of the sport, bouldering is not simply about climbing your way to the top. It is about the technique of manoeuvring your way around the wall, and is an amazing way to build core strength. Once you get a rhythm going it is an extremely satisfying sport.

I will admit, my descent was not exactly what you would call smooth but, hey, not bad for a first timer.

Off to a rocky start

Vanessa AdamPaul

SURGE team members Paul, Vanessa and Adam turn their hands (and feet) to bouldering

I’ve never gotten along with heights. So when I was told I’d be trying out bouldering – rock climbing without a harness – for an article, my initial reaction was one of anxiety, unnecessary rage, and a few indiscriminate shin kicks to colleagues in my immediate vicinity.

But when I was told it would be indoors with a soft floor so that chances of injury or death were minimal, I apologised for the violence. The experience was thoroughly enjoyable. It was not only a great workout for arms and legs, but learning to plan and conquer various routes around the walls gave me a newfound enthusiasm for an activity I never gave a second thought to. Hopefully I‘ll get the chance to go back.

Street performer on Edinburgh’s Royal Mile

Paul, Vanessa and Adam (left to right) at the Pleasance sports centre

For more info visit www.ed.ac.uk

Image: Mariana Mercado

Image: Mariana Mercado

ReflectStreet performer on Edinburgh’s Royal Mile

Image: Brian Hammonds

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SURGE MAGAZINE | REFLECT

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DO you love travelling, but using modern transport goes against your

ecological principles? Noël Bauza may have found a way for you to reconcile the two without travelling by horse.

His project, Anywhere Anytime Photography, consists of travelling to every country in the world, while compensating for his carbon footprint. When did this project start and how did you come up with the idea of doing it?

At first, I wanted to do a world tour with a friend but we did not want to pay for it. We did 48 stops in five months and everything was paid by sponsors.

But travelling is a major source of pollution so we

decided to compensate for all the CO2 we would produce.

We produced 20 tonnes of carbon dioxide but, thanks to a project by Action Carbone, a French association, we compensated for 22 tonnes.

The purpose of the project is to show that we can both travel comfortably and have no carbon footprint, in a very cheap way. The principle is quite simple: you calculate the amount of pollution you release and pay an association that will avoid this same amount elsewhere. I chose a project that replaces highly polluting kerosene cookers with eco-friendly fuels. In the first year,

abroad (I can promote their brand in other countries), and free rights to my pictures. What’s coming next? I would like to be an intermediary between people who would like to compensate and associations who arrange projects. I am going to launch my own website.

I want to show people that it is easy, it can be done in three clicks. You can pay every month or just for a particular trip. Spending £22 a year to cover your pollution, that’s nothing.

For instance, British people create 7.8 tonnes of CO2 per year, so it would cost around £4.80 per month.

It seems to me that all this is not just about travelling…

Of course I like travelling but the idea behind it is to urge people to compensate Scottish people, for example, would save more than £295 each year. There is an economical logic behind all I am doing. By eliminating the pollution issue you would reduce the government’s expenses because they would not have to pay for pollution-related health problems. Everybody would win.

“We can travel

comfortably and

have no carbon

footprint”

22 tonnes of CO2 will be cut in India. And thousands of Indian people won’t die because of ways of cooking using kerosene.

When I finished this world tour, I decided to pursue the project. It started a year and a half ago and I’ve already visited 44 countries.

Did you take part in the compensation project in India?

No, the aim of the project is not to do the carbon compensation myself, or to take part in humanitarian projects. It is to show people that it is easy and

comfortable to travel while being eco-friendly.

One tonne of carbon costs about £5.55 to compensate, so someone who travels from Marseille (South of France) to Edinburgh by plane creates about 220 grams of CO2, which costs only 96p to compensate, there and back.

What did you tell the companies to convince them to sponsor you?

If companies are interested, I ask them to participate in a way that suits them. For instance, Samsonite provided me with £740 of whatever I needed. Another sponsor paid for all my carbon compensation for 2015. Nightswapping helps me find places to stay wherever I go. I also have media partners.

In the end, companies gain a good image, an ambassador

“It started a year

and a half ago and

I’ve already visited

44 countries”

Noël’s tips for trying a similar project:-Be motivated and prepared to work at it-Contact a lot of companies-Accept refusals and move on-Find something original that makes you stand out to prospective sponsors

Carbon neutral

Photographer Noël Bauza proves you can travel the world without damaging the environment...or your wallet

Words: Marion Guichaoua Image: Noël Bauza

Noël choosing his next destination

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NOW more than ever people have the resources and the ability to travel. Yet, with millions of us undertaking worldwide

journeys every year it can be difficult to find a nourishing, and more importantly unique, experience in a new location.

Perhaps the final destination of this pursuit isn’t a place or a new way of travel, but rather a way of thinking which offers a new method of experiencing a place, and this may come in the form of psychogeography.

Now, before fully explaining the meaning of what looks like two words inelegantly stuck together, we need to delve into some simplified history.

As a concept, the roots of psychogeography go back to the 19th century with French poet Charles Baudelaire and his idea of the flâneur; the wandering Parisian gentleman whose sole purpose was to walk and observe the cafés, arcades, parks and promenades. He soaked

up the city, exploring what defines it and the people living there. In the mid-20th century, philosophical groups such as the Lettrists and Situationists developed the concept to a more theoretical level by analysing how the physical presence of a city affects the consciousness of its inhabitants.

This is where the concept of the dérive appears: the practice of allowing the subconscious to guide the body around an urban environment. Lettrist Guy Debord defined a dérive as the “path of least resistance that is automatically followed in aimless strolls”.

Author Will Self popularised psychogeography with his weekly column of the same name in The Independent, which was then compiled into a book. Self’s columns are an excellent starting point to get into the practice. He talks about his

Let your mind wanderDelving into the world of psychogeography

“When we travel, we live in bubbles that shut us off from

the real world”

Words: Adam Wilson Illustration: Mariana Mercado

experiences in psychogeography in places such as Istanbul, Morocco, Australia and Thailand.

So here we have the essence of psychogeography, and why it can be useful to follow not only abroad, but at home as well. All this theory and philosophy can be condensed down to a very simple act: walking.

A number of Self’s articles would concentrate on walking, and how he would walk to and from the airports of the cities he was visiting, to truly understand the place he was visiting. His argument being that when we travel we live in bubbles that shut us off from the real world: the taxi that takes us to the airport, the hotels we stay in and the tourist traps that we are lured to.

If this all seems too much, there are a number of apps to help you get started. There is the web-based Dérive app that will help you take a randomised exploration of a city and turn it into a “game”, or the iOS Drift app that will guide you on a walk with random instructions and will encourage you to seek out obscure and hidden things.

So liberate yourself. Create your own dérive; buy a copy of Joyce’s Ulysses and follow the protagonist’s path around Dublin, or walk through Bangkok’s streets in the shape of a snake. There are more wacky examples, like using a map of Madrid to traverse Paris. Or you could simply walk, avoid the overly hyped tourist spots, appreciate the scenery and think about where your subconscious path has taken you.

Books on Psychogeography: Will Self, Psychogeography (2007): A collection of Self’s columns documenting his walks around the world. This is an inspiring book. Merlin Coverley, Psychogeography (2010): An accessible introduction to the subject which encourages beginners to discover cities by way of psychogeography.

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Two elderly women in Jambiani, Zanzibar, race against the coming storm to farm seaweed from the Indian Ocean. During the rainy season, productivity is severely disrupted by the weather. Seaweed is heavily relied upon in eastern Africa as a source of local income, and is exported for use in the pharmaceutical, food, textile and cosmetic industries. Recent advancements in farming technology are currently being trialled in Zanzibar that could increase productivity by almost 30%. These women are still farming the old-fashioned way, using small sticks bound together with rope to hold the seaweed seedlings in place after the tide retreats.

Peter Jan Van Schalkwyk

SURGE’s editing team first met PJ while working in the Far

East. Since then, PJ has crossed continents in search of the perfect shot. He’s currently

based in Abu Dhabi, UAE

Against the tide

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The Queens Well; located in the basin of Glen Esk and the first marker en route to the cave

SCOTLAND, the unicorn-horned land of crags, glens, lochs and cairns. A mere 45-minute drive from some of the most populated

cities can take you to some of the most idyllic and remote locations on the British Isles. Hollywood sentimentality paints the mountainous areas of Scotland as majestic, royal, mysterious and cold. Despite being responsible for some truly terrible stereotypes, the Hollywood system has got Scotland’s look bang on.

Searching for something in the mountains captivates everyone. Balnamoon’s Cave is an almost invisible blip on an ordnance map. Journeying out to find it captivates local adventurers and travellers alike.

So, in February, we made the decision to search for the elusive cave in Glen Esk. The

cave has been the subject of our searches in the valley since the very first time we ventured there as shaggy-haired teens. It has taunted us with nothing more to go on than local hearsay and a rough grid location on a tatty old map. Rhuaraidh’s father, a police mountain rescue officer, had found it once. Once.

An hour’s drive north of Dundee, Glen Esk is a flat, U-shaped valley. It sits snugly within the boundaries of the Cairngorms National Park. Being able to say you have hiked in the Cairngorms National Park adds a certain gravitas to your adventure. Wading through the River Esk is difficult. Wading through the River Esk – you know, the one that permeates its way through the Cairngorms, that inhospitable mountain range that is as likely to bring snow in summer as Hibernian are to bring me disappointment on a Saturday – kindles the spirit of Scott of the Antarctic. You can effortlessly add to your hill-walking credentials by simply stepping over the

Eat, sleep, cave, repeat

Words and image: Paul Malik

A search for a hidden cavern in the Scottish Highlands becomes a personal odyssey

park’s boundary. We set off early, the morning sun barely

penetrating the February clouds. Leaving base camp we ventured north by northwest. The mountains beckoned, goading us with the promise of finally discovering a treasure that we have failed to find for almost ten years.

Journeying along the basin of the Glen, the rolling foothills that enveloped us cast a foreboding shadow. The footpath, usually clear in summer, was hard-packed with compact snow. The cold had turned it into a bobsleigh track. Rhuaraidh’s dog Buddy took great delight in racing ahead, his paws leaving tracks beside those of something much bigger. A stag shared our path.

The cave was named after the wife of a Jacobite soldier who hid in it while on the run from the British Army. Its location, still so evasive in our age of GPS locators and Google Maps, must have infuriated the Redcoats as much as it did us. For four hours we scoured, elevating to almost 800ft (240m) facing the Crag of Dounne. We had been advised to search for a dishwasher-sized boulder, put our back to it and face 242° south. After that, it was a simple case of walking ‘straight’. There’s a lot to be said for local knowledge. Usually. Again, we still could not find the cave. Another time perhaps, in the not so distant future.

The fledgling teens that first ventured out so long ago had dreamed of rock-stardom and mansions. In the immortal words of Jeff Goldblum: “Life…uh…finds a way”. Career path wrong-turns, misplaced faith and council tax meant that our own idealistic goals hadn’t quite materialised. Not being able to find a cave on the side of a hill pales somewhat into insignificance in comparison to what is really important. Life’s journey is not about the end goal. It isn’t about the cave. It’s about the valley. It’s about the ice pass. It’s about wading through the river and always looking up. Our journey to the cave was not about finding it. It was about appraising ourselves. But there was also a dog, so it wasn’t all drama and existential introspection.

“The cave was named after the wife of a Jacobite soldier who

hid in it while on the run from the British army”

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more accessible. For example, when I went to Edinburgh Castle, they had a new Braille guide.

Is disability perceived differently in different countries? And did travelling make you feel differently about your own disability?

Yes it did. Travelling gave me a lot more confidence in what I could do. It taught me to ask for help a lot more freely and made me more aware of what the disability means for me, what my needs are and how to communicate them better.

It also made me realise that the quality of the assistance is not the same from one country to another.

In India, I’ll never forget it, we came across a child just sitting on the ground. The poor kid had one leg damaged and she was blind. What kind of society lets that happen to people? I was 16 and it just really struck me that in a lot of western societies that could not be allowed to happen. That’s an extreme example, but it gave a lot of perspective on what I had.

What is the funniest story you have about travelling with a disability?

Last year I was going to Poland to visit friends. They live in Wroclaw, so I asked my dad to book me a flight to “Vrotz-lav”, which is how you pronounce it. So when the plane landed, my friend rang me: “Are you not in the airport?”. We figured out through Facebook, thanks to the option to share your location, that I was in Bratislava, in Slovakia.

In case you ever need to know, it’s 527km from Bratislava to Wroclaw. I took a taxi that cost €450 (£335), and my phone died in the middle of the journey. I speak French, Spanish and English: the driver spoke Polish, Russian and German. The only English words he knew were water, stop and thank you. So we drove for six and a half hours in silence. It was the most bizarre experience I’ve ever had.

My friend still won’t let me book my flights, she’s still going to do it for me next time I come. Listen to this interview online at surgemag.org

IF travelling means experiencing difference, people who live with a disability are constant travellers. Their testimony may highlight how

travelling always teaches you something about yourself… and how to laugh at yourself too.25-year-old Christina, from Ireland, who is blind, agreed to take us on her personal journey.

When people travel, images seem to be quite important. How do you perceive the change of atmosphere between countries?

For me, sound is really important. The sound of the sea, for instance. Also smell. When I was in the south of France, the family I was living with had a lot of fruit trees and I always remember the smell of those. From India, I will never forget the smell in the slums.

Even when people describe things to me – for

example, a white marble statue of a horse – I won’t imagine anything white because colours don’t mean anything to me, but I’ll imagine a really small version. I’ll scale it down so that it can fit into my hand, so that I can get an idea of it, physically.

Does the idea of travelling make you confident or are there too many obstacles?

It’s getting better. For example, most smartphones now have audio GPS systems, and there are apps, such as TapTapSee, that are designed to help blind people. That makes a huge difference. I feel a lot more comfortable travelling on my own now than even if I was this age ten years ago. And most of the airports have really good travel assistance.

Tourist sites, as well, are getting much

Words: Marion Guichaoua Images: Mariana Mercado, Lauren Beehan

Disability has never stopped Christina McCarthy from exploring the world

Sense of adventure

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Perceptions

TAKE a guess: why does the Japanese embassy in Paris send around 20 tourists

home to Japan each year?Visa issues, perhaps? Crime?

They can’t afford their flight home?

Incredibly, these unfortunate tourists are repatriated because Paris is so different to their expectations that they suffer mental trauma. The image of a romantic, film-like Paris jars with the real city they find themselves in: beautiful, but marred with similar problems to everywhere else.

Culture shock, of course, comes in many milder forms. French tourists to Ireland must be perplexed when their plane lands in a modern city. Didn’t the adverts promise green fields full of tweed-wearing farmers? Or what about

visitors who come to Scotland, expecting to find tribes of kilt-wearers and hills overrun with wild haggis? The wild haggis is an enduring myth: not so long ago, one third of American

visitors thought haggis was an animal and 23% hoped to catch one.

These days, we all have a perception of a country before we visit it. We’ve read the guidebooks, watched the films and seen our friends’ Instagram photos. Like never before, we

feel familiar with places we’ve never visited and feel we know them, because we’ve almost experienced them second-hand. In 1996, sociolinguist Graham Dann warned that guidebooks turned tourists into “chasers of images”, who only seek out places they’ve already seen in photos. Nowadays, social media does the same.

We all chase images. We naturally want to witness places with our own eyes, see those things we’ve heard so much about. But resolutely seeking images could lead to missed opportunities to see a place in all its glory, to discover new adventures. As novelist Henry Miller wrote, a “destination is never a place, but a new way of seeing things”. We may be chasers, but we can be creators too.

Words: Lauren Beehan Images: Brian Hammonds (below, left and right)

“We feel familiar with places we’ve

never visited, because we’ve

almost experienced them second-hand”

Our perceptions of a place before visiting rarely match reality. SURGE asked the following people about their image of Scotland and what shocked them most when they arrived. (Images: Lauren Beehan, Will Thwaites)

Will, 21, England“I thought Scotland was going to be grim and feral, with lots of crime

and very little in the way of ambitions and prospects. What shocked me the most was that it is very similar to home. There is very little difference between people’s attitudes to daily life. But I noticed a lot fewer people wear headphones and other media players while they walk about. This suggests to me that they are less shy and maybe even less scared of their surroundings, as they are happy to be exposed to it more. It’s also a lot hillier than I thought.”

Inna, 30, Finland“I thought that Scotland would be more rainy (maybe I had luck with

the weather), with a lot of history: buildings, museums, places... as well as the Scottish accent, which I thought I wouldn’t understand. The things that shocked me were the wind, which is insane, the beauty of the nature up in the North, people’s kindness and politeness, and the size of Edinburgh. I thought it would be bigger.”

Karel, 21, Czech Republic“I definitely expected it to be colder here weather-wise, and that people

ate chips all the time with absolutely everything. The biggest difference is, in my opinion, how tame everyone is when it comes to subjects like gender and race. [They] are obsessed with not saying anything with a remote possibility of it being not to someone’s liking.”

Saiman, 19, NepalThe biggest shock for me was the huge mix of different cultures that exists

in Scotland. Where I come from everyone is the same; same religion, same race… I love the mix of cultures, it has made me curious about the world and has made me want to travel and discover.”

The view is different when you’re on the groundvs Real i ty

A view of the Eiffel Tower, Paris

View of Edinburgh from Calton Hill 37

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Enter the world of Henderson Wines.

From the economical to the extravagant we have it covered.

Our extensive range of more than 1000 wines surprises most

visitors on entering this Alladin’s cave.

It is a homage to wine makers from around the world.

An impressive range of beers and spirits.

If you don’t know about us, pop in and give us a try.

HendersonWines

109 Comiston Road, EH10 6AQ, Edinburgh 0131 447 8580

www.hendersonwines.co.uk Lisbon, PortugalImage: Brad Hammonds

Live

SURGE MAGAZINE | LIVE

41

“I’m embarrassed, not pregnant” and other things you learn while studying Spanish in Spain

Words: Lauren Beehan Images: Emilio J. Rodríguez Posada

Found in translation

Plaza de Toros in El Puerto de Santa María

NOBODY speaks like the textbooks. No matter how many Spanish

classes you take at home, nothing prepares you for arriving in Spain and realising the locals speak nothing like the grammar book suggested. They have accents. Slang. Regional dialects. The only way to fully learn the language is to immerse yourself in their culture.

People sometimes say it’s hard to find a truly Spanish town to study the language

in Spain. Widespread tourism has created entire coastlines of resorts where you’re more likely to see an episode of Coronation Street than hear anyone speak Spanish. Look a little further, though, and you’ll find towns like El Puerto de Santa María, across the bay from Cádiz, where the only tourists are Spaniards themselves. In fact, fellow students aside, the only English-speakers I encountered there were a lost couple that had taken the wrong bus.

The beauty of taking Spanish classes somewhere like El Puerto is that, outside the

classroom, you’re surrounded by the living language and strong local accents. You quickly grasp the different pronunciations, so you don’t buy horsemeat (caballo) instead of mackeral (caballa), or inadvertently proposition your waiter instead of ordering chicken (pollo; polla is slang for male genitalia).

There’s nothing like realising you’ve been telling people you’re boring (soy aburrida), not bored (estoy aburrida), or that embarazada doesn’t

actually mean “embarrassed”, it means “pregnant”, which could leave you very embarrassed indeed.

Immersing yourself in the local culture is a sure-fire way to understand Spanish expressions that make no sense in English. Only context will teach you that somebody’s “half an orange” is their partner, or that “being a sideways zero” means that you’re useless. And if someone tells you to “go fry asparagus”, well, you’d better scurry home quickly rather than ask them for recipes.

Culture defines a language; one couldn’t exist without the other. El Puerto has many of the cultural landmarks that drive the Spanish language: bodegas where sherry is fermented, the Plaza de Toros where controversial summer bullfights still draw crowds, cafés selling cortados (espresso “cut” with milk), street-markets that are busier at midnight than midday, beaches with magnificent sunsets, tapas restaurants and lazy Sunday afternoons when shops are closed and families

are together. All of these show where Spanish has come from; indeed, it was from El Puerto that Columbus set sail on his second voyage in 1493 and the first world-map was drawn there in 1500.

Columbus aside, there are cities like El Puerto de Santa María all over Spain and, indeed, all over the world: towns which have kept their original character in the face of global tourism and the dominance of English. These towns, goldmines for a language learner, teach what a grammar book never could.

Calle de Luna, one of the town’s busiest pedestrian streets.

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glittering sea and abundance of authentic gelato really did become a part of my daily routine. Best of all, I built up the most wonderful and priceless bond with the children while teaching them basic English. I found that, depending on the age of the children, playing games and sneaking in some English words worked a treat for the more unwilling student. Bribery by gelato may also have played a small part in the success of my teaching skills.

A common question people ask about my experience is about the wage. Typically an au pair can expect to earn around £50 to £60 a week. However, seeing as board and food are already included in this job, it goes a lot further than you might expect.

Au pairing gave me the opportunity to explore a new place in my free time, socialise with my host family, and return to the UK with not only a great sense of achievement, but also a feeling that I now have a second home.

There is no better way to spend a summer than channelling

your inner Maria Poppins in Italy

DID the prospect of working as a live-in nanny in a foreign country, with

absolutely no knowledge of the language, scare me? Of course. Was it the best experience I have ever had? Absolutely.

These days, au pairing is an increasingly popular way to truly experience a new country, culture and lifestyle. Au pairing in Italy not only opened my eyes to all the wonders this vibrant country has to offer, but it allowed me to make life-long friends and even gain some new language skills.

The prospect of a summer at home between university semesters simply did not appeal to me. I was craving a new adventure and, luckily, au pairing was surprisingly easy to arrange. There is a huge number of au pairing websites that will register you for free; all you have to do is create a profile with your experience and preferences, and the invitations pour in.

This arrangement is mutually beneficial, as host parents in Europe are often keen for their children to interact with a native English-speaker. Some families include basic housekeeping duties in the job description, and I was happy to help my newfound family. But most days my main responsibility, apart from being a nanny, was teaching a few hours of English.

Naturally, the daily task of taking the children to the vast stretches of unspoiled Sardinian beaches was a terrible chore. But in all seriousness, the

Porto Venere, La Spezia, Liguria

Just a spoonful of gelato Words: Vanessa Kennedy

Family bonds

Images: Vanessa Kennedy (left), William Mercado (below)

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The number of people choosing to teach English abroad is increasing every year. When it comes to selecting a place to up and move to, many people look to Asia. SURGE brings you a practical guide to some of the most popular destinations, followed by two accounts from teachers who’ve been there and done that in Korea - one of whom wasn’t disappointed.

Image: Brad Hammonds

The yin and yang of teaching in Asia

Gyeongbokgung Palace, Circa. 1395, Seoul, South Korea.

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Japan

Visa: Most schools should offer you a visa but expect complications. The midnight visa-run to Hong Kong is common. Qualifications: A degree is required, apparently, but many don’t have them. CELTA and TEFL qualifications are also desired. However demand for teachers far outstrips supply. Pay: Anything from £200 to £2000 a month. It all depends upon your experience, your institution and the city you live in (Beijing, Shanghai, Shenzhen and Guangzhou pay the best). Living costs are very low. Holidays: Limited national holidays plus an average of five to ten days paid leave. Work Hours: Completely varies, from a few shifts a week to 60 hours.

Visa: You will need an employment offer, education certificates (such as TEFL or CELTA and your degree) and a criminal background check.Qualifications: You must be a native English-speaker, with a degree and a TEFL qualification. Pay: On average, £500 a month but the more qualifications you have, the more you earn.Work hours: If you are fortunate to work for a government school, you will work 20-25 hours per week. If not, it depends on the school/company.Holidays: Government schools give teachers one month vacation in April, and two months in August/September. Private institutions give a lot less.

Visa: Visa requirements are a little unclear in Vietnam. Teachers say the required documents can change at any time. It is safest to check with the Vietnamese embassy in advance.Qualifications: Depends on the school or company. Some will only hire CELTA-qualified teachers while others accept applicants with a TEFL certificate and/or degree.*Pay: Ranges between £900 and £1300 per month. The more qualifications you have, the higher your salary.Work hours: In no way set. Some teachers work three days a week, some five. Holidays: Again, this depends on the school. Some give 20 paid days while others give ten. Some only give national holidays.

ChinaVietnam

Thailand

Thailand: Ko Phi Phi IslandVietnam: Vietnamese women in Ho Chi Minh CityJapan: Restaurant owner in Beppu, Oita Prefecture, Kyushu IslandChina: Fenghuang (Phoenix) Ancient Town, Hunan Province

Visa: Most people join the JET Programme, which has a stringent application process with limited places. However, if successful, they’ll help you with your visa. The application process takes up to 10 months. Qualifications: You’ll need to be a native English-speaker and have a degree. CELTA or TEFL certificates are not required, but you will take a rigorous English exam and attend several high-intensity interviews. Pay: About £1500 a month in your first year. Bear in mind that the cost of living can be quite high and apartments are not paid for. Work Hours: 35 hours a week.Holidays: Aside from Japan’s 15 national holidays, applicants get a minimum of ten paid days off, but you may be required to work during the students’ school holidays.

Japan

Bongeunsa Temple, Gangnam District, Seoul, South Korea.

JET - Japan Exchange and Teaching Programme TEFL - Teaching English as a Foreign LanguageCELTA - Certificate in Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages

*Qualifications Glossary

An English teacher’s guide to the Asian job market

Words: Paul Hyland and Tom CrosbyImages: Brad Hammonds (background right), Tom Crosby (all others)


49

1. Students wearing traditional hanbok

for the Chuseok festival. 2. Photoshoot at SLP

English Academy, Changwon.

3. A typical public school classroom.

4. Vicky, Gina, Vera, Ellen

EatTHIS is the Land of the Morning Calm, and the afternoon shout, and the

evening unpaid overtime, and the night-time paperwork marathon.

As far as teaching abroad goes, it’s supposed to be the easy option. Free flight, free flat, high wages and all the kimchi (pickled cabbage) you can eat.

However, in the hagwons (private Korean “cram schools”), expect to learn the true meaning of the term ‘fee-paying school’. The client is king, be it the parent or the child. Tests are doctored to ensure that every child passes, for fear it would reflect badly on the institution. Spats over crayons between six year olds are given so much credence they spill over into full-blown diplomatic incidents, more akin to the UN than Mr Un’s English Academy.

Unhappy children are bad for profits.

Many hagwon teachers are paid late, if at all. They’re overworked and under-supported and made to feel grateful for their meagre holidays and their three paid sick days a year, while being left to teach from banal repetitive textbooks written in pidgin English.

Of course, not all of Korea’s hagwons are like this, but horror stories of their working conditions are never far from the surface.

An extreme example is one girl who shattered her wrist on Sunday night and worked Monday afternoon, full of opiates and with metal pins sticking out of her arm.

Despite the compounding drawbacks, the money is good, the food is incredible and the drinking culture unsurpassed.

Sometimes, even trapped in a terrible job thousands of miles away from home, you wouldn’t change anything for the world.

Words: Tom Crosby

TO teach in the wonderfully weird South Korea, one needs to be from an English-

speaking country, have a university degree, and a strong sense of humour.

Working hours in public schools are preferable to those of hagwons. With classes finishing by 2.40pm, teachers are usually expected to “deskwarm”, that is, stay until 4.30pm to prepare the next day’s lessons.

Working conditions in public schools are generally superior to those experienced by my sulky comrade in his hagwon. A Korean co-teacher in every class helps enormously because the kids understand you better, they behave better, and the class, although somewhat formulaic, moves smoother.

Having at least five weeks’ holiday also gives you ample time to explore the rest of Asia.

Korean food is among the best in the world, as natives love to tell you, and when it came to my school dinners, they were spot on. Every day I was served a dish of meat, soup, rice and kimchi with the food being the same standard as a decent local Korean restaurant.

But perhaps the greatest aspect of life in Korea is one custom that involves compulsory socialising with your principal. By socialising, I mean drinking, heavily, as is common practice in Korea. When the boss takes a sip, everyone takes a sip. Weekly staff nights out are commonplace, and they are glorious. Until the next day of course, when slurping instant noodles just doesn’t cut it as a hangover cure.

The cuteness of kids cheering when you enter the classroom is a start, though.

Words: Paul Hyland

Korea: The Bad Korea: The Good

Confectioner, Marrakech, Morocco

Images: Tom Crosby and Paul Hyland

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Words: Arantxa Barrachina Images: Marisqueria L’ham and

Riberaexpress.es

Iberian

FideuàFideuà is a typical dish from the Valencian regions which is made in a similar way to the famous paella. The Valencian word fideuà means “a large quantity of noodles”. The legend says that fideuà was invented in the port of Gandia by a ship’s cook who wanted to cook paella, the captain’s favourite dish. He realised that he did not have any rice - the main ingredient – in the pantry and added noodles instead. The experiment was a success, the recipe proved popular and the fame of fideuà quickly spread throughout the region. The dish is made from special fideo noodles, seafood and fish stock.Each year, an International Fideuà Contest is held in Gandia (Valencia) and many chefs compete for the top prize.

ArnadíArnadí is a traditional dessert from the city of Xàtiva in Valencia, created in the ancient Arab Independent Kingdom of Valencia, between the 11th and 13th centuries. Arnadí is considered the most ancient sweet dish on record in Europe. The recipe appears in a cookbook called Book of Sent Soví, written in 1324, along with the oldest surviving Catalan recipes. It owes its sweet flavour to either pumpkin or sweet potato, enriched with almonds and a touch of sugar and cinnamon.

Arnadí is considered the most ancient sweet dish on record in

Europe, dating back to 1324

delights

Sardinha AssadaSardinha assada is considered one of Portugal’s

“Seven Wonders of Gastronomy”. These delicious sardines are seasoned with coarse salt, usually the day before they are cooked,

and put on the grill until the skin reaches a golden and crispy texture. Boiled potatoes and grilled peppers are a must-have with this dish.

The secret is to combine it with a thick slice of bread from the region of Alentejo, which

absorbs the fish’s natural oil. The final touch? Season it with olive oil and vinegar.

There is a time of year when sardines play a starring role. In June, when different regions celebrate the feast days of the Popular Saints,

a true Portuguese native goes out into the streets, eats sardines, drinks wine and dances

to traditional music all night long.

FarófiasClouds on Earth: that’s how this traditional

Portuguese dessert is known. Made from typical ingredients of Portuguese confectionery (whipped

egg whites, lemon, milk and cinnamon), farófias are highly appreciated for their fluffy texture and

sweet cream. This dessert, created centuries ago in the heart of Lisbon, is

very easy to make and mainly consumed during Christmas and New Year celebrations. There is

nothing like enjoying the warm cream mixed with the fluffy “clouds” on a cold winter’s day.

A true native goes out into the streets, eats sardines, drinks good

wine and dances all night long

into some of Spain and Portugal’s other culinary masterpieces?You’ve heard of paella and bacalhau, but why not delve

Words: Carolina Morais Images: aosdomingosnacozinha.com and petiscos.com

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SURGE MAGAZINE | EAT

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Xiangbala Hotpot (63 Dalry Road, Haymarket)After 6pm, Xiangbala Hotpot is easy to pick out from the outside because it’s the only shop on the road with its windows perpetually steamed up. Walking inside is like entering a greenhouse: every table features its own heating plate, and a pot filled with water.

You pay per person for all you can eat. Once you’ve selected from the menu what you want to cook up and what broth to cook them in, you are presented with a platter of ingredients to prepare at your leisure.

We tried our best to get a bit of everything and here’s what we can recommend:King prawns - kwang gouw dway shya (宽沟对虾)Oysters - moo li (牡蛎)Mussels - ee bay (贻贝)Scallops - shan bay (扇贝)Razor clams - chung dzir (蚶子)Squid - yo yoo (鱿鱼)Tofu - tofu (豆腐)Chinese cabbage - da bok choy (大白菜)Sliced beef - neo row (牛肉)Glass noodles - shyen myen (线面)

Here’s what we’d stay away from:“Kojac’s filaments”No idea what these were. Bit like prunes.

Taste of China (175 Gilmore Place, Tollcross)We took one look at this restaurant’s name and figured it would be a pretty sure bet. Fairly traditional, you choose a selection of dishes from the menu, and mix and match from the Lazy Susan in the middle.

THERE is a time and place for mystery meat in radioactive sauce, served in plastic containers. But if you’re prepared to delve a little deeper, you can treat yourself to a unique Oriental banquet that is both healthy and delicious, and at a reasonable cost. Here is a handy guide to discovering

the real taste of China for yourself. Pull this magazine out at any self-respecting Chinese food joint and pronounce as written for immediate results.

China on a plate

Chongqing Chilli Chicken - chong ching la dzir jee (重庆辣子鸡)Straight out of Sichuan. Seasoned with sesame seeds and deep fried. Very spicy.

Braised eggplant - hong shau chye dzir (红烧茄子)And other assorted vegetables in soy sauce. Meat does not always have to be the centrepiece of a meal.

Double-fried pork with bell peppers and chilli - huey goor row (回锅肉)Double-fried for double the fun. Only mildly spicy.

Boiled fish with bean sprouts in chilli oil - fey tung yoo (沸腾鱼)Boiled until disintegration, then stewed with chilli.

Home-style tofu - jya chang doe fu (家常豆腐)A great accompaniment to spicier dishes so as to cushion the blows. Served with veggies.

Tomato and egg soup - shee hong shir jee dan tung (西红柿鸡蛋汤)Tomatoes and eggs made into a soup. Love it or hate it. It’s everywhere in China.

Words: Philip Askew Images: Mariana Mercado

The SURGE team discovers the real tastes of the Orient

A platter of ingredients, ready for the hotpot

Sauces and seasonings

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SURGE MAGAZINE | THE LAST WORD

ON New Year’s Eve 1998, when I was nine years old, as the bells were ringing, my Dad picked me up, put

me on his lap and told me our family was moving to France, and then we’d be moving on to Singapore.

To my tiny child brain this was like being told my entire world would be destroyed because of grown-up reasons I didn’t care the slightest bit about.

The most powerful protest I could muster was a teary-eyed “I don’t want to go to stupid France” (I didn’t even know what Singapore was). But my masterful counterpoint fell on dead ears; so a few months later my world was shattered and we moved from Scotland to France. A year later, we continued from France to Singapore.

It’s been 16 years since I first moved away from Scotland, and I wouldn’t change my experience for anything.

Because of my upbringing, I’m often asked about where I consider home, and it’s not easy to come to any sort of definitive answer. The years I lived in Scotland weren’t formative, although I did keep my accent. My personality took shape in the years I lived in Singapore. But my parents no longer live there, and neither do a lot of my friends, and I probably won’t be going back anytime soon.

When I came back to Edinburgh for university, I found that I had connections to the culture, but I still wouldn’t consider myself to be truly Scottish. This isn’t my home and neither is Singapore; I’m a child of the 21st century, globalised world, and so is the SURGE team.

The majority of the team doesn’t come from Scotland, and those who do have had experiences worldwide, even if they’ve not lived anywhere else.

Our experiences are indicative of a world where people will find it harder to define where their home is.

And that is not a bad thing.

GoinghomeWords: Adam WilsonImage: Noël Bauza

View of the Hub from the Royal Mile, Edinburgh

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Surge Magazine 2015