I've got Seoul but I'm not a Seoul-dier

I have to dedicate this blog to Justin Timberlake, and I guess subsequently to The Killers.  I was recently reminded of Justin Timberlake's death in Southland Tales.  The movie is quite the mindsplasm (for lack of a better word).  Awesome concept, but too many storylines and big name actors to count for anything.  One of the best moments in the movie is when Timberlake is dying to the song of "All These Things that I Have Done".  Having watched Edison a few years back, the only time I thought I liked Timberlake's acting was when I was a giddy little kid watching the Mickey Mouse Club (I actually remember liking the large majority of popular ex-Mouskateers), but it seems, he only gets better with age.

Anyways, I digress.  So, I went to Seoul for the past two weekends where I did not have to study or listen to lectures.  I needed a weekend away from my little city so I ventured away.

First up on the docket: food.  By the time we arrived in Seoul we were craving galbi (갈비), so we set off around Hongdae to get some food.  I don't know why I love Christmas so much, but anything to do with lights and decorations turns me into the happiest person alive!  Of course, everything looks better when covered in snow, but I take what I get here and live off the lights whenever I see them.  One thing I love about Korea, everything is open.  We found a restaurant that was packed at midnight.  Where in Canada do you find that?

On Saturday we made it up N Seoul Tower.  N Seoul Tower much like the CN Tower is a communications tower, standing at 236.7m.  We took the cable car up Mt. Namsan (which you could trek up for free, but I didn't have the muscle for it).  Something I have never witnessed were the traditions of "Locks of Love" or love padlocks.  The tradition is, a couple places a lock on the fence and throws away the key.  What it does is symbolize their eternal love for each other.  This custom is practiced worldwide and I, quite personally, love it!

Of course, me being the creeper with a camera that I am, followed the love story of a couple getting ready to put up their lock.

Girl waiting

Boy writing message on lock

Like every girl, they're always looking in a mirror

After spending 5 minutes looking for the right place,
they find the perfect spot for their lock!

And then we headed even higher into the tower.

Yes, exactly how far I am from the homeland!

Then we ventured to the Korean War Museum.  I knew the vague history of Korea and its invasion of the Japanese and then the North Koreans, and I'm not one to actually like museums, but this museum is truly amazing.

Made of all the fallen soldiers dogtags

Nothing ends a great day other than shopping!  Myeungdong is every shopper's dream.  Kinda like Oxford and Regent streets in London but condensed along one major strip.  I had my first Forever 21 shopping experience- quite the experience indeed!

Then we partied around Hongdae.  Out of the few bars I've been to in Korea, I must say that Motto is my favourite.  Not just because Kurt Cobain's MTV Unplugged session is on the tv screen, but their music feels like home to me.  They know their music- and I love that.  You can request music, and I'm not talking the pop that plays at Thursday Party, I'm talking good music.  I've met some good people at this place.

In case I hadn't shopped enough, Insadong is perfect for getting those Korean souvenirs and gifts for other people. and I filled my Subway craving!

All in all, I love this city.  I wish I lived there, and I will be back.  Plenty of times!

John Holt

Its unfortunate that most people have never heard of this man.  He is awesomeness personified.  Born in Jamaica then moved to UK, he is a legend in reggae music.  For those of you who say "John who?", he penned The Tide is High made famous by Blondie (I refuse to credit the most recent cover), but I have a sudden craving for him.

This is for my mom and Lloyd.

I'm thankful for...

So the last of my Thanksgiving's was last weekend. 
My first week in Korea happened to fall on the week of Chuseok (추석).  Korean Thanksgiving is similar to Canada in that it celebrates the end of the harvest.  Koreans usually flock to their hometowns and indulge in traditional Korean feasts.  However, it lasts for three days.  Being blessed with having met Chloe she made us dinner at Corinne's house... my first Korean family!


Then Canadian Thanksgiving rolled around in October and I ventured out to Busan.  Never did I realize that I would have a Busan family, but thanks to Jamie and all the girls over there I was able to celebrate my Thanksgiving away from home: chicken, mashed potatoes, nachos, mac and cheese, salad, pizza, pumpkin pie and dessert! 

According to Wikipedia "The history of Thanksgiving in Canada goes back to an explorer, Martin Frobisher, who had been trying to find a northern passage to the Pacific Ocean.^[7] Frobisher's Thanksgiving was not for harvest but homecoming. He had safely returned from a search for the Northwest Passage, avoiding the later fate of Henry Hudson and Sir John Franklin. In the year 1578, he held a formal ceremony in Newfoundland to give thanks for surviving the long journey. The feast was one of the first Thanksgiving celebrations by Europeans in North America. Frobisher was later knighted and had an inlet of the Atlantic Ocean in northern Canada named after him — Frobisher Bay."


Finally, comes American Thanksgiving.
Again, according to Wikipedia "The event that Americans commonly call the "First Thanksgiving" was celebrated to give thanks to God for helping the Pilgrims of Plymouth Colony survive their first brutal winter in New England. The first Thanksgiving feast lasted three days, providing enough food for 53 pilgrims and 90 Native Americans. The feast consisted of fish and shellfish, wild fowl, venison, berries and fruit, vegetables (peas, pumpkin, beetroot and possibly, wild or cultivated onion), harvest grains (barley and wheat), and the Three Sisters: beans, dried Indian maize or corn, and squash. The New England colonists were accustomed to regularly celebrating "Thanksgivings"—days of prayer thanking God for blessings such as military victory or the end of a drought."

Now, of all the people that I've met in Daegu, the large majority have been American.  In fact, I think I've met more South Africans than Canadians here, so it only seemed natural that I would be celebrating American Thanksgiving.  The first of it came with a Burrito Friday night party.  I still don't really understand the Taco Bell fascination that Americans, but I could never refuse a real burrito party.  And of course every good meal must end with dessert, which came from homecooked caramel and candy cane fudge!
Then came Thanksgiving dinner... turkey, gravy, cranberry sauce, mac and cheese, fruit salad, mashed potatoes, pumpkin pie and apple pie  (my delicious contribution).  It was an awesome night filled with a champagne toast!
And then of course the real stuff happens.  I left my phone in the cab and ended up getting it back thanks to the help to the great Shaun, got it back a couple of hours and 10,000won.  Then after being in a overly packed bar with low ventilation, I end up getting my cough, which doesn't seem to be going away anytime soon. 

But overall, having spent three months in Korea, I should say its all been worth it. 

Fall into Korea

Unfortunately, its December.  Time flies by and I have no idea sometimes how fast it goes.  However, there's always something to do and somewhere to be every week in Korea.

Jjimjilbang (찜질방)

So, these are a godsend really.  The concept?  Its a public gender segregated bathhouse, but the kicker: get yourself naked with everyone else and chill out in the various saunas and spas.  Quite recently, the awesomely awesome show Bored to Death, featured a New York jjimjilbang in its episode as Jonathon must find a Korean woman- it made me quite proud although I have no idea why. Its a slightly weird concept for foreigners, but after your first time, you're addicted!  Multiple pools with varied temperatures and dry and wet sauna's to drain all your toxins.  Its a bit of an adjustment to get used to walking around naked with other naked Koreans.  I heard that Koreans usually stare at the foreigners, but I had to say, it didn't happen as much as I thought.  They are quite the experience, and I am somewhat addicted, come winter time and I'm sure to hit these bad boy's every week!

Woobang Tower Land

The amusement park developed around the tower that reminds me of a much smaller CN Tower.  This tower is 312 metres high, where the CN Tower is 553.3 metres AND you can extreme skyfly from the Woobang Tower!  This was my birthday present to myself.  While the amusement park is nothing big, there were a few rides that certainly took me for a ride (for once!).  The roller coasters were really nothing special, and while my friends kept dropping like flies as we kept going on the rides, it was the last couple of rides that felt like they took days of my life.
The Can Can: You sit in the seat and as it spins you around you flip up and down and eventually go upside down... having done this twice in a row, I can honestly claim it to be an awesome ride!  

I'm the red blur!

Tag A Disco: The concept of this ride, you hold on tight and make sure you don't get flung out of your seat.  There's no seatbelts or any kind of safety mechanism to keep you held down on this ride.  You just hold on tight and hope you don't get bounced off.  The ride revolves around in a circle and then starts bouncing up and down.  At one point I seriously thought I was getting flung off this thing but no matter what I couldn't stop giggling the entire time!  Needless to say, I've found my new favourite ride!

That's me hoping I don't get knocked off

DVD Bang (DVD방)

The concepts of these are very simple.  You rent a movie and you get a place to watch it.  The room comes fully equipped with a couch, heating pad, blanket, surround sound and a projector screen.  Now, if you're a Korean couple and you wanted some "alone" time, but you both live with your parents, where else are you going to get your freak on?  I would assume it'd be these places, especially when you get the pull out couch and heating pad!  Nonetheless, when you're bored and/or tired and you want a couple of hours of rest, its not a bad place!

Orphanage

Yes, you heard correctly!  Korea to  me, is not all about drinking, partying, getting paid and travelling, its also about getting to hang out with Korean kids and acting like a kid!  To set the record straight, orphanage's here do not quite mean the same as they do back home.  Its located in a school and its more for kids to stay when their parents either don't have the time or can't afford to look after them.  They still get to see their kids on the weekend and such, so its not all a negative experience.  My friend Corinne had been volunteering with the orphanage for a while and I was more than happy to give up 2 hours of my day to hang out with kids where I didn't have to worry about correcting their English and not acting like a fool around them.  There were about 6 boys and we arm wrestled, chicken leg fought, played baduk and a pog-like game.  When they got ahold of my camera I ended up with a gazillion videos of them dancing and making faces, and a million more pictures (some of them are quite the photographers!), and the next thing I knew, time was up!  I wish I could do more of this.  It makes me miss my little cousins back home and playing games with them, and even though none of them knew English and we didn't know Korean, we still managed to have a good ole time causing trouble and creating mischief in the orphange.

12 Days of Christmas

Yes, Christmas is around the corner (and by corner I mean a month!) and for the first time ever I'm living in a country that doesn't snow around Christmas time, nor really celebrates or decorates around this time.  Therefore, Christmas music is essential and Starbucks holiday coffees are critical and any chance at any Christmas decorations I gawk at and smile to myself.

Music makes the world go around for myself, which makes me happy that I am not forced to listen to these songs.  But in the spirit of the holidays here are my 12 favourite Christmas songs (all linked for your viewing pleasure):

12. Baby, It's Cold Outside

(I'm not a Norah Jones fan, but nothing can be bad if teamed up with Willie Nelson.  You really can't have a bad version of this song)

11. Boney M - Mary's Boy Child

(This was a staple in my house every Christmas)

10. Bing Crosby & David Bowie - Little Drummer Boy

9.  WHAM - Last Christmas

8.  Bon Jovi - Please Come home for Christmas

(Music video= Bon Jovi and Cindy Crawford= hotness to the nth degree)

7.  Madonna - Santa Baby

6.  Run DMC - Christmas in Hollis

                         Christmas Is

5.  Britney Spears - My Only Wish this Year

4. Mariah Carey - All I want for Christmas is You

3. Muppets - 12 Days of Christmas  (Just for Beaker alone)

2. Alvin and the Chipmunks - Christmas Don't be Late  

(Its amazing how far this cartoon has come along)

1. Band Aid - Feed the World

Let's also not forget about the wonder that is the Trans-Siberian Orchestra and the Nutcracker.

Oh by the way, this post is really just an excuse to justify my listening to Christmas music at work!

North Korea

It all comes down to this: North and South Korea have never declared peace.

And yesterday as I started listening to Christmas music willingly (big key word there), I start hearing my Korean teachers around me start talking all fast and gasping and then run off to their computers.  My one co-teacher comes up to me and tells me that North Korea has dropped about 20 bombs in South Korea, near Seoul.  When I said it was crazy, her reply was "Oh, its okay.  If we die, we all die together" and walked away.
Now, I should mention, the tension between North and South Korea isn't treated half as bad as it is outside the two countries.

When I got accepted into the EPIK program (before I was told I was on a waiting list), the news came that it was believed North Korea had sunk South Korea's warship with a torpedo attack.  I was bombarded with news reports about the happenings of the attack and the UN and US government getting involved, and everyone's comments about how I'd be better off staying in Canada.  I aptly replied to everyone, "war or no war, I'm making my way down there".

And now I'm here, on the opposite end of the deal.  Shortly after my co-teacher told me the bombs went off, we actually started hearing news on news sites about what happened.  South Korea had Marines training and apparently it provoked North Korea to set off some 200 artillery shells at a South Korean island close to North Korean borders. 

Its weird.  Back home everyone would be talking about it and people would be scared, but here, people just go about their daily lives.  The only people that are truly worried are the foreigners here.  Maybe I just don't notice it because the Koreans are speaking their language so I really have no idea if they are that worried.   All I know, my co-teachers were glued to their computers because we found out about the attacks relatively earlier than most people.  I heard stores from the other English teachers that their co-teachers kept drinking their tea and going about their business.  And this is what I feel like doing.

Its comforting that people back home are worried, but, like a Korean, I'm just going to go about my own way and let everyone else deal with them.

My opinion- North Korea would be stupid for setting off a war.  I highly doubt China would back them and with an angry Obama on the South's side, it wouldn't be good for anybody.
At least, I've finally registered with the embassy!

What's your Korean name?

I decided I want to know what my name is.  Apparently, my name is

Song Hee Hee

Somewhat befitting because I'm always laughing, but, I dunno...


Find your Korean name

My Birthday aka Pepero day aka Remembrance Day aka *insert other worldly event here*

WOOOOOT!!!  My birthday is here, hence the birthday festivities have already begun!
The one day I celebrate like no other has been my birthday- with countdowns and weekend long celebrations and telling people that they wear a poppy to remember my birthday (a little selfish, yes I know), but when I got to this country I call home (for now) I realize that another day falls on my birthday- Pepero day!



First things first.  Most importantly, I cannot forget that November 11 is Canada's Remembrance Day.  Lest we forget and "In Flander's Field" and the poppy (that I actually missed wearing) to commemorate the soldiers that risked their lives and fought for our country.

However, anyone that knows me, will tell you, Remembrance Day is to help celebrate my birthday (Yes, I'm incredibly selfish- sorry). 

But now, as I geared up for my birthday, my students wouldn't let me forget that 11/11 is Pepero day, and as much as I would love to get into the Pepero day fun, it reminds me how much I hate days based on the fulfilling of consumerism.  Actually, it makes me sicker when I hear people call this day a holiday.  Anyone that knows me, including my father which can't stand this part about me, should know that I am totally against all days related to some company preying on the consumer to buy their products.  Hallmark, diamonds, and now Pepero fall into this category.

- Father's day/ Mother's day
- Valentine's day
- Diamond engagement rings
- Pepero day

Although, the best present I could have gotten today came from my 5th grader.  They had to practice the dialogue they just watched and her partner didn't want to do it, so I practiced with her.  When we finished she thanked me and gave me candy!  The cutest thing ever!

Fish, Fertilization dances and Fall frenzy, oh my!

Well yes, its been a while since my last "adventures in Korea" post, so lets see...

Getting some Me time
Dr. Fish
According to Wikipedia Doctor Fish were found in Turkish spas and were used to treat patients with psoriasis.  They actually nibble away the dead skin so that the healthy skin can grow back.  Let me tell you, this is best damn concept anybody has ever come up with!!
The whole concept is a little funny to us, but we arrived at the coffee shop (yes, its in a coffee shop).  For 5,900won you pay for all you can eat bread, butter and jam and coffee (just this alone makes me a happy camper!) and then once your belly is full of bread and coffee you make your way up to the foot spa area.  These little pools that you dip your feet into while these little fish nibble away at every crevice of your feet.
I don't think I can fully explain the feeling of these guys.  It feels like little bubbles, then it gets ticklish as they eat the balls of your feet, and then it turns weird because you're seeing them at work and you know what they're doing and you don't know how to feel about it all.  Either way, my feet were pretty nice and smooth after and I totally expect to come here as many times as possible.

Seok Salon
I didn't chop off as much as my shortest haircut, but a good chunk of it is gone aaaaaaaaaaaand its permed straight.  Yes, I've undergone the Magic Straight treatment and never have I ever had hair this straight for so long without doing anything to it!  It ended up being a 4 hour long extravaganza.  My stylist was amazing!  The poor girl's stomach was growling but she didn't stop and just kept cutting.  Then she gave me an additional treatment because my hair was damaged (which is essentially not like Korean hair) all after hours.  Nowhere in Canada could I ever get this service!


Fall Fever
This is Halloween, This is Halloween, Halloween, Halloween, Halloween, Halloween

I have never been into Halloween.  Having to endure a whole week's worth of lessons about Halloween plus having to go shopping for some kind of costume made me already weary of the day before it arrived.  Needless to say, most Koreans don't do anything for the day- just whatever they've learned from movies/tv shows and other English teachers.  But I was quite impressed with the quality of the Korean costumes.  There are no costume stores in Daegu so there's no choice but to get creative.  Initially thinking of being a Harajuku girl, it was just too hard.  There's enough eccentric clothing that it became incredibly overbearing.  Just a blue wig, some blue and green tights and neon earrings and I think I turned into a go-go dancer.  But best costume of the night by far belonged to Edward Scissorhands, and the ajummas!

Here Comes the Bride

My first wedding in Korea belonged to my Principal's daughter's wedding.  Although, don't ask me what happened, I wasn't there for the actual wedding!  All the teachers were invited and we showed up about half an hour before the wedding and we left just after it started.  Why did we leave?  The gigantuous hotel didn't have enough seats to accommodate the massive amounts of people that were there and we went to eat lunch instead. 

Daegu in Motion

Korea In Motion is the largest non-verbal performance festival in the nation, featuring performances designed to break through the use of language and cultural barriers through music, martial arts, dance and physical comedy to portray ideas and feelings.

I ended up scoring free tickets to a couple of shows, I ended up seeing the shows of Break Out, Return and Sachoom.  While the shows were pretty awesome to watch, the descriptions provided were even better.

Break Out

Based on the break dance, and it is newly made "Extreme dance comedy" that was made by applying acrobatics and shows a fast story development dance with impact and acrobatics.  Popping and breakdancing at some of its finest, gratuitous female dancing that contributed nothing but to show some flesh and bad dancing,  but special shout outs go to the beat boxer!  

Return

Heart beating in 90 minutes!  It feels alive just NOW!!  Exciting and Real Street Dance!!  Dynamic Performance in 90 minutes with great moves and music.  The fantastic Gorillacrew's performance that has humanity and strength.  The Great musical which attract audiences-- RETURN!!

I have to say though, the break dancing was awesome!!  Its funny to hear Koreans oooh and aaahhh over the smallest movement but it was pretty impressive.  Gorilla Crew rocks!

Sachoom

It is a festival which the stage and audience become the one from the opening and end while mixing a hiphop, jazz, break dance and modern dance delightfully in the the simple story that everyone will feel sympathy in any countries and times.

Nowhere was I ever ready for what I was about to watch.  Yes, the show was comprised of all different forms of dance, but I wasn't expecting what I got.  Birth dances, pornography, growing up through the ages and battling your psyche were just a few of the themes, but never will I forget the birth dance.

Its not everything but 0:20 made me giggle like a little kid.

My favourite Koreans

If its anything you should know about me, is that I'm a TV watching fiend.  Yes, I love to fulfill my television/movie/entertainment needs, and the most logical explanation for it all is, I spent enough money studying it and making it my major- I need to keep up with the popular culture (even though sometimes I'm embarrassed for it).

So when I got to Korea, one of the more asked questions from my students was "Which Koreans have you heard of?"

Surprisingly, I know of more Koreans than I though I knew, so here's my Top 5 Favourite Koreans.

5. KPop

 Yes, this Korean phenomenon is growing on me.  Considering I haven't been into the pop scene for the longest time (except for my love of Spice Girls and Britney Spears) I never thought I could like the sticky sweet sounds of the Korean pop scene.  However, hearing it ALL the time here, I find myself listening to it on my breaks at school, and humming tunes of songs everywhere I go.  To fulfill my musical needs, it has made my list.

Music Video

4. Sandra Oh

So, finally, a Canadian that Koreans have heard of!  Except for Justin Bieber they seem to be impressed when I say I have heard of her. I am actually a fan of her work.  I don't watch Grey's Anatomy, but Sideways was brilliant along with 3 Needles.    Somehow I always need to be repping the Canadians eh?

3. John Cho 

No list would be complete without this man.  His movie was epic (and not with a k) amongst all minorities and what one would go through just for some Whitecastle while blitzed out of his mind.  I am the Kumar to this man's Harold!  And forever to this day will Diana Aramburu be my Harold and me her Kumar.

Oh, and GoBo at Thursday Party, looks EXACTLY like him... almost.   

2. The Lost Couple

As one of my all-time favourite shows finished forever, the Korean couple comprised of Yunjin Kim and Daniel Dae Kim aka Sun and Jin Kwon gave me mixed emotions.  I couldn't stand them at the beginning, and it went from annoyance to Jin being one of my favourite characters, and their reunion made me cry like a little girl at a Jonas Brothers concert!  Besides Rose and Bernard, these two have been my favourite couple.  And lets not forget how incredibly sexy Daniel is!

1. The one, the only Dr. Ken Jeong

Now, I'm talking about the days BEFORE Hangover and Community.  I have been in love with this man ever since stumbling upon this music video.  I mean what kind of person would stride and gyrate around in a silver crushed velvet leotard singing in falsetto?  The kind of person that I would love.  Yes, Dr. Ken Jeong is not only a hilarious comedian, he is also a physicist.  Mix that and his ability to play crazy crazy roles and you have the most admirable man on television.  From jumping out of the trunk of a car naked, to playing the crazy King of a Live-Action RPG, and now the Asian Spanish crazed ex-teacher on Community, there is nothing this man cannot act his way out of.  Jeong and Jane Lynch are two of the only people that can make a secondary role legendary, and realizing that he is Korean just makes it better!

Thank you... I love you...

Yes, the two words that most old Korean men know.  I spent 90 minutes on a train where I had to listen to an ajoshi (old Korean man) tell me those two phrases.  Not once or twice, but repeatedly, and he had to hit me to tell me.

Ok, lets go back...
I went to Busan for their Fireworks Festival- an expected 2.5 million people were supposed to be there on Gwangali beach.

We got there on the Friday for the World Fireworks display (from China, Portugal and Italy).  Koreans live in a very Confucius society, where they believe in respecting their elders, so much so, that if an older person pushed you out of the way you shouldn't do anything back.  Caitlin and I are standing in this already packed area waiting for the fireworks.  It wasn't too horrible until some people decided to leave which caused some older women to believe that they could push and trample and elbow their way to the front, and while they decide to do this, some more people are leaving and I ended up right in the middle of this stampede.  Words cannot even describe this event, and while you hear many Korean girls whining in pain, nobody can do anything and against my impulses to push these people back (which I would have done if I was back home) I just tried to laugh at the craziness!
Either way, the fireworks were pretty amazing!

Then Saturday came along.  Now, I'm not one that eats at Indian restaurants because I'm too spoiled by my family's cooking, but I've been missing some curry and lassi.  Namaste in Haeundae is AMAZING!! Nothing like some garlic naan (not naan bread) and mango lassi and paneer! It was good for the soul... makes me miss mom's cooking, so now I have to get on the cooking train!

Then we headed off to Gwangali beach, at 3pm, the city was incredibly busy and we had to go all the other way around the city, through the bridge, which was totally long-winded but with a nice view!  The cab driver thought I was crazy, and there was talks of my monkey circus and all the nonsense that comes along with it.  I guess this is what happens when you hang out with your friend that is still drunk from the night before!

We then spent 4 hours on the beach waiting for the fireworks.  It is very interesting being in Korea. I used to get stared at because I'm the "alien" living in Korea, but its slowly changing.  I was walking along the sidewalk and this Korean with this humongous SLR Canon stops me and starts taking my picture, then a mob of Canon-ized Koreans start taking my picture.  Now, I'm not posing, but these people are all up in my face and I'm dying of Shelley laughter until I finally run away.  Then we're sitting on the beach and this Korean family sits in front of us that we made some kind of friends with.  The little girl would always listen to us- and hopefully she didn't pick up too much of the bad language, the mother gave us mandarins and would laugh with us at times.  Then these ajuma's (old Korean women) managed to take up the back of our mats and sit there, but they ended up being supernice letting Andre and myself lie down on their jackets!

The fireworks were amazing.  Like the whole sky against the backdrop of the bridge and water was lit with fire and colour and lights.  It unfortunate that I have the world's worst camera, so I can't bother taking pictures, just a lot of videos.

We partied... drank quite a bit of soju and beer... and then when time came down to leave, it took about 45 minutes to catch a cab.  I don't know if it was because the event caused so much traffic, but there were virtually no cabs in the Gwangan area, and with everybody trying to find a cab home, it was near impossible.  One of my friends tried to pay off Koreans that were driving their own car to take us back home (which really wasn't that far off), but yes, absolutely ridiculous!

And now back to my story I started at the beginning.  To take the train from Busan to Seoul (which is the one I get on) is crazy and so the only tickets we could get for the next 2 hours were standing tickets.  We went to the Cafeteria train- pretty much where everybody goes if they're standing and we sat on the floor.  An ajuma was proud of the fact that I was sitting on the floor, and then these ajoshi's (old Korean men) started talking to us.  Now I'm no stranger to local people talking to or my whomever I'm with when I'm the foreigner, but this was nothing short of ridiculous!  This man must have been drunk, but he gave me his phone number and wanted mine.  He somewhat stole my Korean phrasebook saying I didn't need one.  He wanted me to write Thank You in Hangeul (the Korean language).  Then an ajoshi sitting behind me started yelling.  I don't know why and who at, but it got people's attention and it made the drunk man shut up for a while.  Now anybody who knows me, and what I'm like when I'm frustrated, would be amazed at the new level of frustration that I was at.  Like no matter what I could say to this man he would not leave me alone, and he would perpetually hit me to get my attention, even when I was talking to Caitlin, or trying to "sleep".  And finally about 10 minutes before we get off we found out a Korean girl sitting next to us could speak English and we asked her to tell him to stop, and he did.... FINALLY!

Nonetheless, despite the craziness of the weekend, we made a new friend! Huzzah!  Nothing like making a new friend!!

Today's lesson: the next time you're drunk and decide to talk to a younger person that doesn't speak your language one bit whatsoever, learn another phrase other than "thank you" and "I love you" so you don't aggravate these people.

You want to know more about Korea?

 Links:
What will probably happen to me during Winter Break. Almost, word for word.

Everything you wanted to know about what is Korean
(*Just a warning, there is one explicit word used repeatedly)

How you know you're Canadian

- People sneeze and you want to say "Bless you" but you realize they don't do that here AND it drives you nuts
- You apologize when you bump into someone only to realize they have no idea what you're saying, and they don't really even care- EVERY TIME!
- You play King's Cup and a rule of the game is to only ask questions, and the only logical thing is to end everything you say with "eh?" and it works!
- And apparently, when all your friends are everything but Canadian, they can tell you everything that's different to you...

A Waegook in Korea

To get you up to date, its now been a month officially since I've been in Korea.
Many people claim that I should have had a rough patch somewhere along the line, but luckily I haven't encountered such bad luck.  In this month:
- I officially am HIV/TBTE free! (says my mandated health check)
- I am an alien living in Korea (as my Alien Residency Card states)
- I have internet and a cell phone (the final furnishings of my card)
- I have money in my bank account (wahoooooooot)
- I have discovered that another Waegook lives in my building (where I believed none existed around me!)
- I have started Korean classes (I can somewhat read the Hangeul alphabet, I just need to memorize it), and I know the basics
annyoung haseyo- hello/how are you
kamsamnida- thank you
annyounghi kayseyo- good bye
waegook- foreigner
yuk- subway station
sonsangnim- teacher
bop- rice
mul- water
jusayo- please give me
yogioh- to call a waiter/right here

Its good enough to get by now!

I hopped off to Busan the week after Andong, my friend from back home has been in Busan for a couple of years now, so my new life in Korea wasn't complete without going to visit her.  A Philippino movie "Here Comes the Bride" was playing at PIFF (Pusan International Film Festival).
A sidenote: Korea has just changed the way its alphabet is being viewed worldwide.  The old way viewed the letter "b" as "p", and "d" as "t" (or for those that know, they took the voiceless and viewed it as its voiced equivalent), only now are they changing the names, so Daegu may come up as Taegu, and Busan as Pusan (hence the name of the film festival; they're not changing it)
The movie was hilarious!  Nothing like some good foreign movies to cleanse the soul of North American garbage! Sadly, I didn't get to experience the beach or do any real sightseeing, HOWEVER, if it wasn't for Jaimi and her wonderful friends, I never would have experienced Canadian Thanksgiving here! I never realized how much a Costco saves a foreigner's life, and YES there is Costco in Korea!  We had whole chickens, cranberrry sauce, stuffing, potatoes, salad, macaroni and cheese, nachos (WITH CHEESE!!!), pizza, pumpkin pie (!!) and wine.  It was wonderful, beautiful and amazing all at once.  (and for the record, this is Thanksgiving #2 I've experienced thus far!)

In the middle of the week, I needed to get out, so with Corinne, we ventured to Suseong (in Daegu), ate some dukgalbi (duck), and discovered a random waterfall (now Suseong must be the richer part of town) and we watched a water show!

Last but not least, this past weekend (October 18) I spent in Daejeon with some of my favourite people (as it turned out to be a mini reunion of EPIK Orientation) and rocked out to some not so good and really awesome bands!  They had international food pavilions as well.  It was funny (to me at least) how the Indian food tent had the longest line up all night!  I ate some good ole fashioned chicken shwarma at the Turkey tent, but I was craving some mango lassi!
The music was about a 50/50 split of Korean and Waegook bands.  I heard some hardcore (reminded me a lot of Alexisonfire but only coming from one guy), some Green Day-esque bands, ska, reggae, and this one band, had this chick that was hardcore (Stephanie, if you're reading this, she's like the Korean Priya Panda!).
Daejeon's downtown is just as nice as the city, but my goodness, there were soooo many foreigners!  I like the mixture of Koreans to Waegook's but, this was just too much. Call me a snob, but somehow I believe I have transcended past the first level of foreigner to a second level...? (Don't ask me what that second level is) but maybe its because I have some Korean friends, maybe its because a lot of my friends here have been in Korea for more than a month and appreciate Korean culture where you don't have to go to the foreign restaurants/bars all the time- whatever it is, I feel a little more attached to Korea and I can't wait to experience more!

Tandoori!!

During performances there were random firework displays, and Chinese lanterns being lit in the sky, and this hot air balloon would go off every now and then

Andong

I get back from Seoul on Thursday- very, very tired.  I haven't really cooked yet.  With a lack of funds in my Korean bank account (and by lack of funds, I mean NO money yet) I haven't had the chance to go shopping so my spices are still untouched!
My kitchen consists of Special K, bread, milk, ramen noodles and water- somehow I survive.  However, I have discovered the wonder that is Kimbap.  The Korean sushi which comes in very many flavours.  Its pretty much a maki roll but covered in seaweed and comes in about 10 pieces, and is roughly $1!  It is my food saviour here!

I went to Andong village where the Mask Festival resided.  There's a beautiful traditional village called Hahoe village that we walked around for a bit,

My lovely friends- Mr. Sok, Chloe, Lucy and me

Jjimdak!  Steamed chicken with vegetables and sweet potato noodles. I love it!!

*Credit to these pictures go to Corinne and Lucy*

We then ventured away from the traditional village to the area where the festival was going on.  There was some Korean style belly dancing, and then we saw some traditional dance.  Unfortunately there was no mask dancing the day we could go there, but we had a good time nonetheless!