Sunday, September 27, 2009

The Past Remembered Part I

Before you start, I want to let you know this will be split up into parts. I wasn't exactly planning on doing another series like I did in the past with my trips, but as I began writing I quickly found out there is too much to cover in one post. Here is part 1 of... well we will just have to wait and see how many parts there end up being. I mean, I am covering a whole year.

Well, it is almost 추석 (pronounced Chuseok) here and I thought I would recap this past year. And why would I be doing this because it is almost 추석? Well, that is because it is a kind of Korean thanksgiving therefore, I want to take some time to reflect what has been happening and give thanks to all the friends I have met here. Hope you enjoy this "look back" at my stay in Korea thus far.

I can still remember the first day I came to Korea. I remember the 14 hour flight and which the lady next to me kept asking about the time we would land and how to calculate how much time we had left. I got the feeling she didn't understand the concept of time change and even though we were changing time zones, the flight would still be 14 hours long. (It would also be good to point out that on the monitor in front of us was a counter where it told you exactly how much time we had left.) I remember how uncomfortable I felt sitting in the thin rows of chairs on the plane and how I couldn't really sleep. I think it was a mixture of excitement and being completely uncomfortable. I remember landing on the ground and remembering I had no clue who would be meeting me at the airport. Well, no one met me at the airport. After buying a calling card and making a phone call to my school, I was told to get on a bus and head for 서현(pronounced Seohyeon.) When I got there, it was around 8 at night and I had no clue where I was. A few foreigners passed me, at which point I asked if I could borrow a phone so I could call my school again. They allowed me too (almost unwillingly, which really surprised me. Here I am with luggage, which was a good indication that I was new and had no clue where I was, and they didn't really want to help. First sign of many about what to expect from foreigners here.) Anyway, I was finally picked up and checked into a hotel. The place I would be staying wouldn't be ready for a few days.

This was the weekend in which I met my first friend in Korea. His name is 정길(pronounced Jeong-gil, kind of like jungle) and has been a great friend in Korea. We met at a church neither one of us actually attend anymore. I guess you could call it fate. Well, the following Monday was my first day at work. I was picked up from my hotel and driven to where I would be working for the next year. Simon was the first co-worker I would meet and the one who showed me my apartment. I then met my boss and other co-workers: Karl, Jenny, Mrs. Kang, Ryan, Kathy, Travis, Sally, and Sunny. All of which have been great to work with. At the end of the week, I was taken out to dinner with my co-workers. I was told as a new employee I would have to try 소주 (pronounced Soju.) Let me go ahead and state that I absolutely do not like 소주. But as it was a kind of Korean tradition, I drank it. It is a very strong drink and later found out that Koreans love to drink it.

Well, I moved in December which meant I would have to spend Christmas and New Year's alone. At least that is what I thought. I ended up working on Christmas day, which didn't exactly bother me. It was also nice to not have all of the annoying Christmas songs that you would normally hear in every store you walked into back in the States. For Christmas, 정길 invited me out to dinner and introduced me to two new friends, 유정 and 은진. We met at a nice restaurant and had some sort of spicy chicken. As for New Year's, my co-worker Karl came over to my place along with 유정 and her cousin. We ate dinner and watched the festivities on TV. I actually came down with a pretty bad cold (I actually got a shot in the rear region for the first and second time that I can actually remember. A few days later, it was gone.) and that was the reason we stayed at my place instead of going out. I was afraid I would get worse being out in the freezing, Korean winter. One in which I was not well equipped for living in FL for the previous 2 or so years. However, I made it through my first month in Korea and loved every bit of it.


Sunday, September 13, 2009

강화도 (Ganghwa Island)

This past weekend some friends and I went to 강화도 for an outing. My friend 바우 is the leader of an English study group and we have been planning a trip for a few weeks now for the group. Everyone finally made a decision to go to this island. It was about 2 hours away from where we live... without traffic. A little longer if there is some unexpected traffic. However, we made.

Our trip started around 10 A.M., I say around, because we were all late. We met at a Home Plus which is kind of like a Wal-Mart. We bought all the food and what not we would need for the weekend and headed off. Three of us went in the first car and it was our job to find a place to stay at a cheap price. Once we got to 강화도, we drove around for a few hours calling different places until we found one that slept 9 people for 100,000 won. We put our stuff and the room and checked out the surroundings.

We saw a mud flat about 5 minutes away from the room and decided to head there. It was nice to walk around in mud and try to keep your balance. We even "threaded" through a little stream to try and walk to a small island. Well, we didn't make it to the island, but we had fun anyway. I think we spent about an hour walking around in the mud (sometimes up to our knees.) Afterwards, we headed back to our room and decided to prepare the food for when the others arrived, it would be ready to cook.

Well, while waiting, I developed a headache which turned into a migraine. I decided to sleep it off while waiting for the others. Our friends arrived and I woke up... in more pain then when I went to sleep. I tried to eat but moving around just made me feel sick. I laid back down and slept some more. All the while, my friends ate and played games. I woke up again around 2 A.M. and my headache was gone. A friend asked if I was hungry to which I said yes. We cooked some chicken and played more games. I think I went to sleep around 3 or 4 in the morning. Some went to bed shortly after. The room we all slept in was a decent size room where a blanket was shared by two people. We sort of looked like Tetris, the way we organized ourselves.

The next morning we all woke up and got dressed. One of the members had to send off a resume so we had to find a PC 방 (a room where you can play games and get on the Internet.) We went in and she filled out her resume. Oh! Apparently, there is only 1 PC 방 on the entire island. I think we drove 20 minutes to find one. Once she finished, we went out to find this burial site. It was created by 3 stones to mark the grave. We found it. I guess we all were expecting something a bit more. We walked around and saw "Stonehenge" and some other "stone" that were of some significance in one way or the other. 바우 touched one and it sounded like it was made of styrofoam. We made some jokes about it and headed home.

Once we got home, we decided to have some dinner. We ended up trying a new 닭갈비 restaurant. It was good food to which we ate way more than we should. But I just can't pass up the rice you get after eating the main meal. I should learn how to make it myself. After dinner, we all went home. Even with the massive headache, it was a great trip. Tomorrow starts a new week.

Oh and I keep getting reminded of why I really enjoy living here. Korea is quite the beautiful place.

Tuesday, September 8, 2009

Night Club (Very different from a club.)

So, I have said that I would like to experience all of Korea, get to know the culture, the language, and things of that sort. Well, this past weekend, I got to see a different side of Korea. I have been to shows, bars, and clubs here and well, this one takes the cake. It is simply called a "night club."

When my friend and I walked it, we were greeted by a doorman asking us what we were doing. My friend 바우 형 told them we were meeting friends and they already had a table/room for us. He walked us through another set of doors and were greeted by another person in a suit. The scene was quite unbelievable. I thought I just walked onto the set of "Casino" where men in vests holding trays, were rushing around and sometimes holding the hand of a girl. (I will get to this later.) The scene was surreal. We were led to a table where we sat down. My friend said he had to check on something and he would be right back. While I waited, some girls began singing on stage and dancing. The room was very dark and noisy. Almost too much to take in. But there is more.

바우 comes back and says his friends have rented a room. This is a place where guys can hang out with each other in a much, much quieter setting. When I enter the room, there are about 5 guys sitting around a table. Next to one guy is a girl whom I have never met. The guys, I had only met about 30 minutes prior to showing up here. The table had fruits, sodas, and some other drinks. There was a karaoke machine set up in case someone felt the urge to sing. I sat down next to my friend and began chatting. Then, the door opened and a host pulled a girl in and had her sit next to me. He actually made me stand up so she could sit in between my friend and I. (This is why the waiters were holding girls hands. They bring them to the tables of guys.) Now, if you know me at all, at this point I am feeling quite awkward. I had no idea what was going on. A stranger was just sat next to me and now I am suppose to talk to her. (Remember, I live in Korea and know very little Korean.) We talk briefly, then she gets up and walks out.

A few minutes later, the waiter walks in with another girl. This whole scene continues on for the rest of the night. I enjoy meeting people just as much as the next person, but this seemed a little to awkward for me. Everything was forced. I was glad when one of the guys asked if I wanted to go out to the dance floor. I thought this would take me away from all the awkwardness in the room. It did, for about 4 songs at which point the DJ ended the dancing.

Despite all the awkwardness, it was a fun experience. Would I ever do this again? Probably not. It just isn't my thing. What did I learn from it? Not sure. Maybe, I learned that I really do like the idea of respect for women. This place put women at the same level of cattle or sushi at a sushi bar where you can pick and choose what you want. Also, if you are sitting by a crazy girl, be careful. If you have to use the restroom, let her know before you get up. Otherwise, she might grab your arm (in the process scratch you) and yell at you in Korean. (I actually understood what she said, but pretending like I didn't.)

My friend and I ended up getting home after the sun had risen. I was completely exhausted on Sat. and my friend 화선 told me I was acting weird. It was a mixture of not getting enough sleep and I was starving when we hung out. I finally got some food and she said I was normal again.