A Lovely Afternoon

My co-teacher picked me up from school today and took me out to lunch. Her friend, Jeanie, another English teacher came with us too. We ate a delicious lunch at a western buffet restaurant and had some great conversation. My co-teacher asked me if I had ever had a foot massage before and I told her no, then her and Jeanie decided we needed to be treated to one.

When we finished eating, we stopped by a cosmetic counter so my co-teacher could get some make-up. She was helped by a young guy and after she purchased and we left the store, her and Jeanie commented on how strange it was to see a man working at a cosmetic counter and wondered why he would want to do that. I just stated the obvious and told them that it was probably because he was gay. I mentioned it without hesitating, not thinking about how homosexuality is a very taboo issue in Korea. They both looked at me like I told them there was no Santa Clause or something, very shocked. The issue of homosexuality is basically not talked about in Korea at all. There is a small grouping of gay bars in Itaewon in an area called "Homo Hill", but besides that other gay establishments are all underground and not spoken of. Many young gay Koreans have to hide their true identity from their families and will probably never be able to come out to them unless things change sometime soon. It's a shame that Korea is moving forward so quickly with some issues, but stuck in the Medieval times with others.

If you have never had a Thai foot massage, then I suggest you go and get yourself one. It was fabulous. We were taken to a dimly lit room filled with enticing incense and Buddhist decor and seated in some comfortable chairs. The women working on our feet couldn't have been taller than me or weighed more than 120 pounds, but the power they packed in their hands and arms was astonishing. My massage was surely painful at points, but my feet feel amazing now. My co-teacher told me that most Asian people believe that the bottom of the foot is connected to all the major organs of the body; therefore, foot massage and stimulation is a big part of eastern medicine.

Sean and I are leaving for a weekend get-away tomorrow, not quite sure where we are headed, but it will be wonderful to get out of town. Sam and I are taking a trip together next week to the Eastern part of Korea. I cannot wait for vacation!

Tomorrow is my 10 month anniversary in Korea. This year is flying by. Time stands still for no one.

Namaste

Ipod Inspiration

"There are places I remember

all my life

though some have changed

some forever, not for better

some are gone and some remain

all these places had their moments

with lovers and friends

I still can recall

some are dead and some are living

in my life I've loved them all."

-The Beatles, In My Life

Namaste

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

"So Do We Get Paddles?"

I ventured to the eastern province of Gangwon-do this past weekend for an adventure filled trip through a tour company called Adventure Korea. Some friends and I decided to get out of the city Saturday and enjoy a day of white water rafting and bungee jumping. The white water rafting was not as 'good' as it might have been because the water level was low. The rapids were nothing compared to the mighty White Nile and it was just more relaxing than nerve-racking. The scenery up the river was absolutely gorgeous. We were drifting along through a canyon of shear cliffs on either side. Along the way there were several waterfalls and some beautiful and interesting rock formations. Our raft was dubbed "team soju" since our guide had a soju hang-over and several of our group had taken some swigs of soju on the bus before the rafting. After a few hours we were finally back the the starting point for some showers and lunch. When we finished lunch we headed to the bridge a few miles away for the bungee jumping portion of our trip. This was the highlight for me. Because so many people wanted to jump it took forever to get through us all. The longer we stood up on the platform the more I contemplated my decision to tempt fate yet again, but of course I went through with it. The jump was 52 meters high and I jumped solo by my ankles. The jump was quite bouncy compared to my other jumps and I actually saw stars from spinning around so much while I was hanging in the air. Several Korean people tried to jump and chickened out. One man tried three times before throwing in the towel and doing the walk of shame back down from the platform. One Korean girl bungee jumped in high heels. Yes, high heels. Only in Korea. It was a great day, but I arrived home more than 12 hours later exhausted, sunburnt, and more than likely missing a few more brain cells.

Sean and I with the river in the background

my jump courtesy of Alex Yang

Check out my bungee jump here: http://www.facebook.com/video/video.php?v=10100245669278659

Sunday my friend Chris and I braved the crowds for the grand opening of Taco Bell in Itaewon. They were giving away free tacos and the mass of people waiting in line for them was crazy. The food actually tasted like T Bell from home. It was a little slice of America right here in Korea. Yum.

T Bell feast

Namaste

Get 'Yer Popcorn!

There have been a lot of movies coming out in Korea lately that I had to go and see in the theatre. Going to the movies in Korea is a real treat and I realized the other day after a viewing of the new Tom Cruise and Cameron Diaz film (don't know how new it is at home, probably been out for a while), Knight and Day, that I haven't mentioned it yet. First of all, you must reserve your seats in the theatre beforehand. You are actually given assigned seats, but you get to choose them. It's very practical and efficient really, there are no people sitting with one empty seat between them that could potentially be used in a sold out show. (So frustrating when that happens and you can't find a seat except the front row!) The concession stand serves caramel popcorn as well as regular and they even have fun treats like dried squid available. The American movies are all subtitled with Korean characters at the bottom. My first movie in Korea was strange and I kept being distracted by the subtitles, but now I am used to seeing them and I don't think twice about it. Watching an American movie as an American in a theatre full of Koreans can be quite the experience. There are lots of things such as humor, expression, and even some phrases that cannot really be translated into Korean, so when you are the only American (or one in a handful of them) watching the movie there are lots of times when you might laugh out loud or crack up while the Korean people around you are silent as mice. Pretty hilarious really.

I went to see the Blindside in theatres with my co-workers a while back and it actually made me feel a little strange. That movie is so American in every sense of the word- the southern families, football, high school, "ghetto" neighborhoods, racism, etc. I completely understood everything in the film because I am familiar with all of those aspects of American life, but Koreans on the other hand, have no idea what any of those things are about. There are no Friday night high school football games in Korea, no teen shootings, no ghettos, no Taco Bells (yet!), no college football scholarships. My co-workers must have been left feeling a little disoriented and maybe not quite sure of the entire story or message of the movie. Seeing that movie here in Korea definitely made me look at our American lives a little differently, but it also gave me a touch of nostalgia and really made me miss the U.S.

Bought tickets for the opening of Twilight Eclipse in Korea tomorrow! I know, I know, you all got to see it the other week, but I cannot wait to finally watch it!

Namaste

An Educational Trip

The Korean War Memorial and Museum has been on my to-do list since I came to Korea and never got around to visiting until today. The outside of the building is surrounded by sculptures, reflection ponds, planes, tanks, and weaponry. The inside is a collection of information, artifacts, photographs, and videos from Korea's history through warfare. The part about the Korean War was particularly interesting to me. I was not alive when the Korean War went down and the dividing line was made, but it is something that did not happen that long ago and still affects Korea to this day. The American troops are still stationed here in Korea for some extra assistance and assurance that North Korea will more than likely not attack any time soon. I was surprised to learn that so many different nations and the U.N. had such a big hand in the war. The names of all the soldiers who fought and lost their lives are there on plaques as you walk into the main entrance. There was even a "war simulation" room where we listened to some Korean soldiers 'during' battle and heard and saw explosions and smoke as if we were there in the action. It was quite cheesy, but an interesting way to learn more about the war. The display cases inside the museum were all very well done and some were even interactive with animated models, lights, and sounds. The 60th anniversary of the Korean War was June 25, 2010 and so there was a special exhibit going on inside the museum to commemorate it. All in all, it was a very educational trip and I will definitely be watching some documentaries about the Korean War in the future to learn more about it.

war memorial and museum

Korean War museum

names on the wall

student art work, united Korea

U.N. members who were involved in the war

tanks outside

Namaste

Vertical or Horizontal: Which Are You?

I had the most interesting conversation with one of my co-workers today in my teacher's class. We began discussing some differences in culture between the east and the west. She told me that she thought Korean people think vertically and western people think very horizontally. At first I was a little confused, but after further discussion I understood perfectly. It was an amazing analogy. Korean people speak differently to other people according to their age, position, etc. Their language reflects that. The Korean language is also very harsh. People say things like "jow" which means "give me" all the time without any "pleases" or "thank you's". It's just the way people speak. Koreans constantly think of things like age and status, and therefore have a vertical way of viewing the world and themselves. It's almost like a modern caste system, but not really. Western people have a horizontal way of thinking and viewing the world in that we keep people on an even playing field. We would be just as polite to a mailman as we would be to the governor. Our language reflects that with words like could, would, shall, allow, may I, etc. We are also always apologizing for things and often ask instead of tell. Here is what I am talking about: a Korean student might tell his/her teacher "I want to go to the bathroom" whereas, an American student might ask his/her teacher "may I go to the bathroom?" It's just different.

My co-worker then brought up another very thought-provoking point. She told me something that actually helped explain to me the lack of manners in Korean society. She told me that Korean people speak harshly, but have a soft mind. She said that western people speak softly, but have a hard mind. She gave me an example that Koreans may bump into each other and not say excuse me, but they do not say anything because they trust each other not to get mad or upset or want to punch each other in the face or even pull out a gun. Western people, on the other hand, always say excuse me if they bump into someone because usually they just want to cover their back and not upset someone or allow someone to get angry or violent. Koreans are peaceful people. I mean, their police don't even carry guns! But why would they? Batons work just fine to settle down a drunken disturbance, probably about as bad as it gets here. In America, people are allowed to own guns and many people are "packing" wherever they go for self protection. If a policeman tried to break up a gang-related fight in America with a baton, how hard would those gangsters laugh?

Which brings up another thought. What the hell must people think of us Americans? We really are one of the most violent countries on earth. What a shame. I once was talking to some Canadian friends about always locking your doors and they thought I was nuts because people in Canada are not paranoid about that like we are in America. When I travel to "dangerous" places like countries in Africa people at home are always so scared and nervous for me, but it makes me wonder why we are not more scared and nervous right in our own backyards- because Obama has our back? Because our "great" justice system will prevail? Because we'll just pull out our 45 and take care of things ourselves? Just some food for your mind. Mine's been fed a lot today.

Happy July!

Namaste