Rain, Rain Go Away

I'm sure that the childhood rhyme will not do us any luck over here in South Korea where the monsoon season has begun. Everyone warned me that the rainy season is bad. I had no idea how bad. Friday after work I walked about ten minutes to the subway station and arrived soaking wet. My jeans were soaked to my thighs, my shirt drenched, and my leather Marc bag was in a pathetic state full of unhealthy moisture. Did I mention I had an umbrella?

umbrellas are the new black

Due to the spontaneous torrential downpours and unpredictable wind, my weekend plans changed. Most foreigners made their way down to the west coast for Mud Fest, but I decided last minute to forgo the mud and rain and thunderstorms and stay somewhere dry. Instead, Sean and I spent Saturday afternoon at a local cafe and enjoyed some quiet time reading, listening to tunes, and sipping on tea and fresh juice. I hadn't had a cafe afternoon in a long time and it was quite relaxing.

the little stream has turned into a dirty river

After we cleaned up, we headed to Seoul to see the most critically acclaimed live show in Korea, Nanta. The live show features four chefs who are frantically trying to cook enough food for some weddings within an hour. During the show the actors were actually making music out of the ordinary kitchen utensils while dancing, doing comedy, and cooking. Because of it's audience interaction and wildly entertaining drumming, chopping, and acting, the show has had the longest run of any in Korea's theatre history. During the show the actors pulled audience members on stage for a few different things. At one point, a male chef came towards our isle and grabbed my hand to pull me on stage. I was taken to a cooking table, a chef hat plopped on my head, and I followed what the female chef showed me to do which was make mandu- grab a disc of dough, fill it with cabbage stuff, ball it up with my hand, ring a bell, and when four were made, roll it down the food conveyor belt. It ended up being a kind of contest between myself and another a few others pulled on stage. Sad to say my team lost because we were not fast enough, but it was pretty hilarious getting pulled up there in front of the whole audience. Sean tried to get a photo, but of course my camera had just died.

the stage of Nanta

Sean and I

show poster

When we got out of the show, the rain had not let out at all, so we jumped in a cab and headed to Itaewon to try a restaurant I had been wanting to eat at for a while, the Macaroni Market. The food and drinks were not quite up to par with the prices, but I did have the most excellent salad I have had in Korea, or maybe anywhere with gorgonzola cheese, red lettuce, apple slices, walnuts, celery, and honey dressing. Mmmm.

Today the forecast is rain, again. Of course. So Sean and I are headed to COEX mall to see a movie and eat some Mexican food. All in all, a great, dry, relaxing weekend. Looking forward to a four half-days workweek and vacation begins Friday. Olleh!

Namaste