A Wedding and the Lotus Flower Festival

This weekend I was able to attend a wedding and the Lotus Flower Festival. I will start with the wedding.

First, it was not a traditional Korean wedding. It was held in a Cathedral. The wedding itself was nice but a little boring. We were also told to stand, sit, stand, sit, stand, sit, stand, sit, stand some more, and then finally it was over. I guess the wedding was about an hour or so.

Second, was the reception. Well, the bride and groom do not even eat in the same area as you. They, along with their family, eat by themselves in a room. They do walk around and say hello, bow, and thank you for coming.

Last, I was the only foreigner there. This was to be expected. I am glad that I was able to meet some of the family before the wedding. A few weeks ago, my friend invited me to her house to meet her sister (who was getting married) and mother. While I was there, I was able to meet her aunt, uncle, cousin, and grandmother. They are all very kind. Even at the wedding, they remembered me and tried to talk to me. I say try, because I still don't know enough Korean to have a conversation and they don't know English. So, we smile, nod, and bow. I appreciate being invited and glad I was able to attend.

Now, the Lotus Flower Festival. It is a festival for Buddhists mainly, but anyone can come out. While there, you can enjoy some nice tea and make some paper lanterns. I went into one of the tents to try some of their tea. I sat next to a monk while the woman serving me tea, showed me the proper way of drinking it. There is a method of how to drink tea properly. She told me that you can not use the tea leaves for more than three cups or so. All of this was very interesting.

Afterwards, I got on a bus and headed home. The following photo is of a mountain off in the distance. I just thought it was pretty and took it from the bus. The rest are from the Lotus Festival.

Let the Right One In

About a week ago, I was told by a friend I should watch the movie called Let the Right One In. I checked out the trailer and thought it would be interesting. But with the business and what not, I forgot about it. Then, while looking for a movie to watch, I saw it. While I was contemplating on getting it, a friend walked in and asked if I had watched it. He said it was good and that I should see it. So, I thought maybe this was fate and decided to watch it.

Let the Right One In is a Swedish film directed by Tomas Alfredson. The film tells the story of a 12 year old boy who develops a friendship with a girl who appears to be the same age. The girl moves in next door to the boy with her guardian. This girl also happens to be a vampire.

Now, this is not your typical vampire movie. At times it can seem a little slow, but overall I enjoyed it. I liked the change they made in this movie. It is more about the friendship of the boy and the girl, rather than about her being a vampire. Some of us have probably wondered what it would be like to have a vampire as a friend and this movie gives us a glimpse of that. It shows just what we would have to go through in order to sustain this kind of friendship.

I would recommend this movie if you are looking for good story telling and enjoy some good folklore. There are a few parts that seem somewhat out of place and confusing. But overall the film is good. However, if you are looking for your typical vampire movie, this is not it. Rent Lost Boys or something like that.

The Songs of the Stomach

Sometimes my stomach likes to sing. And by sometimes, I mean most of the time. Anyone who has been around me enough knows that my stomach likes to make noises. It is kind of like when you sing in the shower. You don't really think about people outside the room being able to hear you, so you sing as loud as you can or louder than you normally would. The only difference is I know people can hear it.

Growls when I am hungry.
Growls when I am full.
There is no satisfying you, is there?

Completely random blog. I know. Sometimes this will happen. Deal.

Mimicking

Today I am sitting at my desk listening to Murder by Death and waiting for my day to begin. I just finished yet another frustrating day of piano lessons. I think the one thing harder than trying to learn how to play an instrument is learning a new instrument from someone who doesn't speak your language.

Today, she was trying to explain something to me. I told her I did not understand. We looked at each other confused as she tried to explain it again. I guess if you repeat the same word or words then something will stick. That would be true if you spoke the same language. But I do not know enough Korean to be able to understand my piano instructor.

So, she decided to move on with me still lost and confused as to what I am doing. I play along, mimicking her like a child would their parents with no understanding of what they are doing.

What's in a Horse?

Recently William Shakespeare's words, "A horse! A horse! My kingdom for a horse!" has gone through my mind. I am not sure what made me think of this. I have not read Richard III since high school. But, none the less, these words popped in my head. And now because of these words I am writing this.

Richard III shouted this after his horse was slain. He was hoping to receive a horse to flee from his enemies. Now, I have no enemies like Richard had at this point. No one is trying to kill me, I mean. But there are things that I feel are very relevant to this quote.

Since I have moved to Korea, I have often found myself quite sidetracked. Sidetracked from my talents, sidetracked from my friends, and sidetracked from my God. It is so easy to get caught up in the day and completely forget to simply pray. This past week, I felt this cry from Richard but in a different way. I simply cry I want more of You and that starts with me becoming focused. Focused on the things that are important. I am in Korea for a purpose and plan on following through.

Cherry Blossom Festival

Today, I got to visit 여의도 with my friend 정길 to see the cherry blossoms. We met in 서 현 where we caught a bus. On the way, we got stuck in traffic which turned what should have been about a 30 minute ride into about an hour or more bus ride. We finally arrived at our destination and met up with a couple of 정길 friends.

We were even able to get some Korean Cotton Candy. Just in case you are wondering, it taste just like cotton candy from America.

Afterwards, we all went and had dinner. While eating, we all watched this TV show about these Korean women who were over 30 and were trying to find a date. I believe they were all famous in one way or another. It was somewhat interesting, considering we stayed there for about 30 minutes after we were done eating watching the show. Finally, we left and decided to get some coffee.

After the coffee, 정길 and I got back on the bus to head home. On the entire bus ride back home we had to listen to these high school girls talk, quite loudly I might add. Apparently they were talking about some boy. Sometimes the best part about living in a country where they speak a different language is when you don't have to hear other people's conversation. So, while my friend was suffering, I was able to tune it out quite easily.

앤티크 (Antique)

Since I live in Korea, I watch quite a few Korean films. I live about 5 minutes away from a small video store. The owner (or who I assume is the owner) and I usually chat a little every time I visit. I always ask him what is good and if I should rent certain movies. Today, I asked if a certain movie was good or not and he paused for a moment then stated, "Not so good." He led me to the DVDs and pointed out one he thought was good followed by, "Popular in Korea." So, I rented it.

The title of the movie is 앤티크 or Antique. It was directed by Min Gyu Dong and is an adaptation of a anime.

Now, when I saw the DVD on the shelf, I was somewhat skeptical. But the owner has suggested some pretty good movies for me to watch and I thought why not. I have to admit I was entertained. The movie is about 4 guys who work in a bakery. It is a crazy combination of a straight man who is tormented by his past, a renowned chef who claims to have "Demonic Charm", an orphan who was once a champion boxer, and then the owner's childhood friend who is sent to watch over him.

This movie was visually compelling. There were some really pretty shots and the acting was good. The story isn't bad although there are some things that kind of threw me off. One of them was the owner knowing French. There is never a hint at why he knows French. It is just shoved in your face when a French man, who was the chef's former lover, shows up to try and steal him away from the small bakery. There were also a few times when the film would break into a musical-esque scene. Other than that, the film really wasn't all that bad.

Overall I would say the movie was fun. It was silly at times but it kept me interested throughout the entire film. So, if you don't mind subtitles or a little cheese, I would say it is worth a watch. Especially if you have a girl who wants to watch a chick flick, you could suggest this. Well, I call this a chick flick, but there is really no romance in the story. The chef does attempt on several occasions to try and get the owner to fall in love with him, but other than that, it is just a story of four men working at a bakery.

Day at the Office

One of my co-wokers, well she is actually my boss, doesn't eat chicken. But yesterday another one of our co-workers gave her a sandwich. Can you guess what kind of sandwich it was? Well, it was a chicken sandwich. Jenny didn't realize that she was about to bite into a nice juicy chicken sandwich and then once she had, we heard a kind of grunt which was followed by, "Is this chicken!?" I went to find out what just happend and saw her spitting out the meat and throwing away the sandwich.

Well, today I am being blamed for that incident. I am not sure how I can be blamed for it, but she is finding a way. She thinks it was some evil plot against her. It would be kind of funny if I did, but no I had nothing to do with it.

I am pretty sure we will argue about this all day at work. I will also make sure my students tease her about eating chicken. Yep, this is what happens at the office.

The Simple Things I Miss

Here is a list of the things I miss.

5. Reese's Peanut Butter Cups.

This is by far my most favorite candy. I mean I like them so much, I was willing to spend 6 or 8 thousand won (about 6 or 8 bucks) on a pack of Reese's Mini Peanut Butter Cups.

4. My DVD collection.

I know this is silly to miss, but I am quite proud of my collection. Some people like their cars, others like their clothes, I like my DVD collection. I guess there is something about displaying your DVDs. It is probably the same idea as someone who displays their books, you know, the ones you see in movies that are aged and look like an intelligent person lives there.

3. A dryer.

I have to hang everything after I wash it. It is quite a pain to have to wait for something to dry.

2. A tub.

I didn't really realize this until I was talking to a friend about taking a nice hot bath. Yes, sometimes I enjoy those. But I don't even have a divider in my bathroom to stop the water from getting everywhere when I shower.

1. Mellow Mushroom

It was probably my favorite place to eat pizza. I still think it is the best pizza in Orlando. I have a lot of fond memories there with wonderful people. We even had my going away party there. Now I have a craving for their cheese pizza.

And before you get upset, I didn't mention friends or family because I thought that was obvious.

It Starts.

I have been inspired to start a blog and actually try to stick with it. I have started these in the past but it has never stuck. I am going to try and make an honest attempt at keeping this updated as much as possible.

This is my attempt to tell about all the tales of living in Korea. There will probably be some nonsense in this as well. I hope you enjoy.