Well almost anyway.
This weekend starts in 3 hours and 48 minutes!
Friday there is a mandatory meeting for all of us native crazies with the JLP (Jeollanamdo Language? program).
My snuggler(see previous post) and I are shacking up in a love motel in Gwangju tonight. If we were to leave for Gwangju tomorrow we would have to get up at balls o'clock in the morning.
Yesterday morning I had two free periods in a row, yet Winnie had two classes. I hid in the room with gym equipment, comfy chairs, and a space heater*. An older man who works in the administration office, violated my sanctuary (I'd previously been alone) and sat beside me. He is probably 60 but in EXTREMELY good shape, he wears tight black clothing and he always wonders around the school throwing roundhouse kicks.
He looks at me, seems at a total loss of what to say, blurts out 'I love you' and leaves. okay...
Afterwards we had the presentation class. I got a little nervous DURING the presentation. It is a little unnerving to teach with 15 other teachers watching you, filming you, taking videos of you...but on the flip side the kids were FANTASTIC:)
(their fantastic-ness probably had SOMETHING to do with the extra 15 adults in the room breathing down their necks, and the fact that Winnie snuck up to their room earlier and made them practice the tricky parts of the lesson).
Afterwards, as per usual, most of the teachers went and played volleyball. Winnie and I never go (using my penchant for fracturing bones as an excuse). Today they were serving clams around four and Winnie BEGGED me to go. BEGGED.
"You never show your face!"
"The other teachers REALLY want to talk to you" <----------lies
"You are a ghost!"
"ALLRIGHT I'LL GO". Jesus.
The teacher I smashed in the face still thinks I'm not playing volleyball because of that incident. And while that plays a large part....I also happen to SUCK at volleyball and they are super competitive!
She told me that when we 'hurt we need to GROW up!' which I THINK was her way of telling me to jump back on the horse so to speak.
Gah...my excuse for not playing volleyball is wearing out..
*It was hovering around zero degrees yesterday. And STILL I had to BEG my co-teacher to turn the heater on in our classroom. The heat is individual to the rooms in the school, none of the hallways are heated at all. We're all (teachers and students) wearing our coats, and snuggled up in blankets, but it's a BATTLE to have the heat on (The heater makes too much noise Jennifer...me-->It's a low HUM. Oh, so dry Jennifer me--> I'd rather be dry then FREEZING) AND when I FINALLY convince her to turn on the heater, the freaking kids open the windows. ARGH. They are REALLY paranoid about "fresh" air here. Gah.
Wednesday, November 19, 2008
Tuesday, November 18, 2008
Another lovely evening in Jeollanam-do
Last night I met my friend Lindsey at the octopus soup restaurant. (It gets better EVERY time)
After dinner Lindsey and I returned to our aerobic dance class.
At the gym my other friend pointed out a man who wants to be introduced to me (her boyfriend and this man are both ginormously muscled so they are friends of a sort).
He is 40+ (which is weird because Korean people only date other people who are their same age, or MAYBE one year older or younger) divorced, and wears a muscle shirt with straps that cover his nipples.I told her I would incinerate her if her or her boyfriend introduced us.
Anyway, after our communal shower, Lindsey and I parted ways. I settled in at home to read a book and chill out before bed. Around 10:30, just before I jumped into bed, my newcomer friend came knocking on my door.
She was slightly befuddled (ie tipsy toddled) after another 'fun hike' with her Korean co-teachers. (Word to the wise: Fun hikes=no fun). She had left the school at 1pm to hike, so she assumed she would return to the school and pick up her things.
HAHAHA
Rookie mistake!
After dinner (complete with shots of soju) and noraebang, she escaped from her teachers(who wanted to continue drinking) and returned to our apartment complex, only to remember her keys were in her bag, left at her school some 9.5hrs previously.
So I got a snuggler for the night:)
In approximately one hour, my co-teacher and I will teach a demonstration class. We are teaching our best class (grade five students) and any teacher willing, plus the vice-principal and principal are going to sit in the back and watch us. It's going to be fine. HOWEVER my perma-panicky co-teacher has been ESPECIALLY panicky leading up to this class. I want to shake her and say reLAX!
I'll let you know how it goes...
After dinner Lindsey and I returned to our aerobic dance class.
At the gym my other friend pointed out a man who wants to be introduced to me (her boyfriend and this man are both ginormously muscled so they are friends of a sort).
He is 40+ (which is weird because Korean people only date other people who are their same age, or MAYBE one year older or younger) divorced, and wears a muscle shirt with straps that cover his nipples.I told her I would incinerate her if her or her boyfriend introduced us.
Anyway, after our communal shower, Lindsey and I parted ways. I settled in at home to read a book and chill out before bed. Around 10:30, just before I jumped into bed, my newcomer friend came knocking on my door.
She was slightly befuddled (ie tipsy toddled) after another 'fun hike' with her Korean co-teachers. (Word to the wise: Fun hikes=no fun). She had left the school at 1pm to hike, so she assumed she would return to the school and pick up her things.
HAHAHA
Rookie mistake!
After dinner (complete with shots of soju) and noraebang, she escaped from her teachers(who wanted to continue drinking) and returned to our apartment complex, only to remember her keys were in her bag, left at her school some 9.5hrs previously.
So I got a snuggler for the night:)
In approximately one hour, my co-teacher and I will teach a demonstration class. We are teaching our best class (grade five students) and any teacher willing, plus the vice-principal and principal are going to sit in the back and watch us. It's going to be fine. HOWEVER my perma-panicky co-teacher has been ESPECIALLY panicky leading up to this class. I want to shake her and say reLAX!
I'll let you know how it goes...
Sunday, November 16, 2008
Those blissfull two days.
As someone who has never worked a 9-5 job before in her life, I've really never appreciated the phrase 'working for the weekend' before.
Now, those blissfull two days are the very essence of my being.
Friday night, Ali, Lisa, Amanda and I ate at our favourite kimbap nara. The meal cost us $15CDN total (my fridge contains eggs and soju PERIOD because of how cheap it is to eat out).
Later on that night we headed to another friends apartment for a few drinks.
Saturday I woke up craving something more than eggs and soju for breakfast. I texted my friend who lives directly above me. We both went to our patios and had a conversation hanging out of the 13th and 14th floors respectively. I told him I was hungry, he said he had cornflakes. So up I went in my pajamas. (It definitely feels like rez here!)
At 11:30 we met with four of our other friends and hiked up the mountain by our apartment building. It was 19 degrees celsius on November 15! I was wearing a t-shirt and sweating!
That night was ladies' night, but I was tired, so I watched a romantic comedy by myself and went to bed early.
Sunday, I reprised my role as a fifth wheel in their marriage and Dean, Mandy, Dante (their dog) and I went to Suncheon Bay. Not very many Korean people have pets, so their reactions to Dante are hilarious. He is a small cocker spaniel, he can't weigh more than 15lbs. Yet, grown men were throwing themselves against the railing of the boardwalk to get as far away from Dante as humanly possible. 'Oh...BIG dog!'.
After experiencing fresh air, we went to my new favourite restaurant in the WHOLE world. Octupus soup. I'm being %100 serious. This is my new favourite food. Weird.
That night, Lisa had a pasta dinner at her house. Between her kitten and 9 clumsy waygooks, we managed to spill pasta sauce over her entire living room. But she forgave us. Then we went to Jodie's for our bi-monthly book swap. Patti brought REAL cheddar cheese!!
Today is Monday and I am still stuffed from this weekend.
And my favourite moment of today?
We are practicing writing invitations in class. We give them a formula, and most kids write something like the following *the parts that they have to fill in are in paranthesis*:
Dear (John)
Hi (John)
(Thursday) is (Christmas)
I will have (a Christmas party)
Would you like to (come to my house)?
From (Jennifer)
One kid wrote:
Dear Spirit
Hi Spirit
Thursday is my funeral.
I will have a funeral ceremony.
Would you like to come to my tomb?
From Scrooge.
Not only was it morbid, funny, and written with perfect grammer and spelling, he also wrote it in CURSIVE writing. Most Korean people aren't even aware that cursive exists! He must be going to a VERY top-notch English academy after school!
Now, those blissfull two days are the very essence of my being.
Friday night, Ali, Lisa, Amanda and I ate at our favourite kimbap nara. The meal cost us $15CDN total (my fridge contains eggs and soju PERIOD because of how cheap it is to eat out).
Later on that night we headed to another friends apartment for a few drinks.
Saturday I woke up craving something more than eggs and soju for breakfast. I texted my friend who lives directly above me. We both went to our patios and had a conversation hanging out of the 13th and 14th floors respectively. I told him I was hungry, he said he had cornflakes. So up I went in my pajamas. (It definitely feels like rez here!)
At 11:30 we met with four of our other friends and hiked up the mountain by our apartment building. It was 19 degrees celsius on November 15! I was wearing a t-shirt and sweating!
That night was ladies' night, but I was tired, so I watched a romantic comedy by myself and went to bed early.
Sunday, I reprised my role as a fifth wheel in their marriage and Dean, Mandy, Dante (their dog) and I went to Suncheon Bay. Not very many Korean people have pets, so their reactions to Dante are hilarious. He is a small cocker spaniel, he can't weigh more than 15lbs. Yet, grown men were throwing themselves against the railing of the boardwalk to get as far away from Dante as humanly possible. 'Oh...BIG dog!'.
After experiencing fresh air, we went to my new favourite restaurant in the WHOLE world. Octupus soup. I'm being %100 serious. This is my new favourite food. Weird.
That night, Lisa had a pasta dinner at her house. Between her kitten and 9 clumsy waygooks, we managed to spill pasta sauce over her entire living room. But she forgave us. Then we went to Jodie's for our bi-monthly book swap. Patti brought REAL cheddar cheese!!
Today is Monday and I am still stuffed from this weekend.
And my favourite moment of today?
We are practicing writing invitations in class. We give them a formula, and most kids write something like the following *the parts that they have to fill in are in paranthesis*:
Dear (John)
Hi (John)
(Thursday) is (Christmas)
I will have (a Christmas party)
Would you like to (come to my house)?
From (Jennifer)
One kid wrote:
Dear Spirit
Hi Spirit
Thursday is my funeral.
I will have a funeral ceremony.
Would you like to come to my tomb?
From Scrooge.
Not only was it morbid, funny, and written with perfect grammer and spelling, he also wrote it in CURSIVE writing. Most Korean people aren't even aware that cursive exists! He must be going to a VERY top-notch English academy after school!
Thursday, November 13, 2008
Stressed and crying (don't worry the title isn't about me)
Yesterday (Thursday) I was really really really REALLY dreading going to school. I wasn't super prepared, and after last week when the grade six teacher told me I find it 'very difficult to teach her students' I wasn't particularily motivated either.
Sighing and moaning and dragging my feet, I didn't make to school until 8:40am (I'm usually there five minutes earlier). I had a lot of photocopying to do, so I was anticipating a stressful 20 minutes before my 9:00 start. Ha.
I noticed as I was entering the school that I wasn't seeing kids anywhere, but I thought they were already locked up in their classrooms for the day. Nope. Thursday school didn't start until 10:00am due to the Korean version of the SATS. Of course no one bothered to tell me about this in advance.
'You are first' says the janitor when I walk in the door.
Oh well, I got all of my photocopying done in time!
Sidenote: In one of my previous entries I wrote about how stressed our helpful Korean friend was about his job interview. After living here I find it hard to believe that all Koreans don't have humongous ulcers. Their lives are STRESSFULL.
It begins as soon as they are old enough to go to school, this sifting between the intelligent and the medicore. In ELEMENTARY school I have students who attend up to three private academys every day after school. They are ELEVEN years old, and they attend school from 9am-8pm (some of them, not all). Plus, all of the students go to school every other Saturday. One Friday was a national holiday. All of the kids were excited to have a day off.
'What will you do?' I asked. 'Study' was the overwhelming reply. In Grade SIX!!
Then in grade six, they test to get into the best middle schools (can you imagine competing to get into grade seven?) My grade sixes tested for four hours straight last Thursday in Korean, math, science, and social studies. (Not to mention the three hour exercise session they had to pass to get into middle school).
Middle school is more of the same intense study, along with their equivalent of grades 10 and 11, all the while building and building towards grade 12.
Grade 12 is HELL year. The students go to school from 7am-11pm and have loads of homework to do on top of that. The SATS they wrote on Thursday lasted from 9am-6pm. Their scores will determine whether they can get into university (and the calibre of the university they can attend). The university (and calibre thereof) that they attend will determine the kind of career they can apply for. If they are incapable of securing a good job, they will be forever second-class citizens. Trades and manual labour jobs are NOT respected (or paid-well) here.
They can take this test once a year. And there is definitely a stigma attached to taking the test a second time.
So to recap, starting in ELEMENTARY school you have to bust your balls to study for ONE test or else you will be unsuccessfull for your ENTIRE LIFE. (this is a bit of an overstatement..but it is also how high school students are encouraged to view this test. Unfortunately, I've heard of many cases where high school students commit suicide either directly before taking the test, or upon receiving their results).
I'm glad my students are still young enough that they aren't TOO stressed yet.
Although...
They are young enough to have some awkward moments!
Today in my grade four class we were playing a team game. It was really close, and one boy said the wrong answer, effectively costing his team the game. He laid his head down on his desk and WEEPED these huge GASPING sobs. I felt TERRIBLE and I didn't know what to do! Thankfully three little girls stood up and started patting his back. He stopped crying. We finished the game in a sombre mood, and I skulked from the room, determined to do something REALLY good next time.
Sighing and moaning and dragging my feet, I didn't make to school until 8:40am (I'm usually there five minutes earlier). I had a lot of photocopying to do, so I was anticipating a stressful 20 minutes before my 9:00 start. Ha.
I noticed as I was entering the school that I wasn't seeing kids anywhere, but I thought they were already locked up in their classrooms for the day. Nope. Thursday school didn't start until 10:00am due to the Korean version of the SATS. Of course no one bothered to tell me about this in advance.
'You are first' says the janitor when I walk in the door.
Oh well, I got all of my photocopying done in time!
Sidenote: In one of my previous entries I wrote about how stressed our helpful Korean friend was about his job interview. After living here I find it hard to believe that all Koreans don't have humongous ulcers. Their lives are STRESSFULL.
It begins as soon as they are old enough to go to school, this sifting between the intelligent and the medicore. In ELEMENTARY school I have students who attend up to three private academys every day after school. They are ELEVEN years old, and they attend school from 9am-8pm (some of them, not all). Plus, all of the students go to school every other Saturday. One Friday was a national holiday. All of the kids were excited to have a day off.
'What will you do?' I asked. 'Study' was the overwhelming reply. In Grade SIX!!
Then in grade six, they test to get into the best middle schools (can you imagine competing to get into grade seven?) My grade sixes tested for four hours straight last Thursday in Korean, math, science, and social studies. (Not to mention the three hour exercise session they had to pass to get into middle school).
Middle school is more of the same intense study, along with their equivalent of grades 10 and 11, all the while building and building towards grade 12.
Grade 12 is HELL year. The students go to school from 7am-11pm and have loads of homework to do on top of that. The SATS they wrote on Thursday lasted from 9am-6pm. Their scores will determine whether they can get into university (and the calibre of the university they can attend). The university (and calibre thereof) that they attend will determine the kind of career they can apply for. If they are incapable of securing a good job, they will be forever second-class citizens. Trades and manual labour jobs are NOT respected (or paid-well) here.
They can take this test once a year. And there is definitely a stigma attached to taking the test a second time.
So to recap, starting in ELEMENTARY school you have to bust your balls to study for ONE test or else you will be unsuccessfull for your ENTIRE LIFE. (this is a bit of an overstatement..but it is also how high school students are encouraged to view this test. Unfortunately, I've heard of many cases where high school students commit suicide either directly before taking the test, or upon receiving their results).
I'm glad my students are still young enough that they aren't TOO stressed yet.
Although...
They are young enough to have some awkward moments!
Today in my grade four class we were playing a team game. It was really close, and one boy said the wrong answer, effectively costing his team the game. He laid his head down on his desk and WEEPED these huge GASPING sobs. I felt TERRIBLE and I didn't know what to do! Thankfully three little girls stood up and started patting his back. He stopped crying. We finished the game in a sombre mood, and I skulked from the room, determined to do something REALLY good next time.
Monday, November 10, 2008
Conflicted
Not that I want to get political or offend anyone, but I just want to share an experience from my classroom.
In the grade 5 and 6 classes I show animated clips with the same characters every class. The clips pertain to the lesson, are very short, and I ask questions about them. There are two Korean characters, a few white characters (one of which is obligingly chubby and stupid), and one black character named Peter. Peter has freakishly large clown lips and always wears basketball shorts.
In today's lesson, Peter is listening to his walkman, getting his groove on, and wearing his sunglasses inside.
Usually when the kids see Peter, even though they know his name, they yell out Micheal! My co-teacher informed me they thought he looked like 'Micol' from a Korean tv show, who was modeled after Micheal Jackson.
Today when they saw Peter, they mentioned Obama.
Progress?
In the grade 5 and 6 classes I show animated clips with the same characters every class. The clips pertain to the lesson, are very short, and I ask questions about them. There are two Korean characters, a few white characters (one of which is obligingly chubby and stupid), and one black character named Peter. Peter has freakishly large clown lips and always wears basketball shorts.
In today's lesson, Peter is listening to his walkman, getting his groove on, and wearing his sunglasses inside.
Usually when the kids see Peter, even though they know his name, they yell out Micheal! My co-teacher informed me they thought he looked like 'Micol' from a Korean tv show, who was modeled after Micheal Jackson.
Today when they saw Peter, they mentioned Obama.
Progress?
Sunday, November 9, 2008
Seoul:Round two-Saturday
Morning.
10:30am
While wondering around looking for watercolour paintings (which we failed to find) we were yelled at by an old lady. I have to mention that we were doing nothing considered offensive by Korean standards. We were all suitably covered from neck to toes, and not speaking loudly. However, she had MAJOR problems with us and let us know by SPITTING at us. Luckily we weren't hit. I have never wanted to punch an old lady before. At least, I can't recall a time like that at the moment...
10:32am
We find a random park (I found out weeks later that this was an UNESCO world heritage site) and wonder around. I accidentally walk on the path reserved for spirits, but the park official is very kind and gracious when she asks me to get off of the path.
The rest of the day was reserved for shopping, and therefore there is nothing major to report.
6:00pm
We decide it's time to go to Cirque de Soliel. It doesn't start until eight, but we are in a huge city and are not precisely sure where it is located.
7:50pm
We eventually get to the proper stadium.
8:00pm
The show begins. And blows my mind.
The end. for now
10:30am
While wondering around looking for watercolour paintings (which we failed to find) we were yelled at by an old lady. I have to mention that we were doing nothing considered offensive by Korean standards. We were all suitably covered from neck to toes, and not speaking loudly. However, she had MAJOR problems with us and let us know by SPITTING at us. Luckily we weren't hit. I have never wanted to punch an old lady before. At least, I can't recall a time like that at the moment...
10:32am
We find a random park (I found out weeks later that this was an UNESCO world heritage site) and wonder around. I accidentally walk on the path reserved for spirits, but the park official is very kind and gracious when she asks me to get off of the path.
The rest of the day was reserved for shopping, and therefore there is nothing major to report.
6:00pm
We decide it's time to go to Cirque de Soliel. It doesn't start until eight, but we are in a huge city and are not precisely sure where it is located.
7:50pm
We eventually get to the proper stadium.
8:00pm
The show begins. And blows my mind.
The end. for now
Seoul: Round two-Friday
This past weekend Trampy Suze, Ali and I went to Seoul to see Cirque de Soliel. I feel like writing this entry in diary format, so here we go.
Friday
5:00pm
I called Ali, and she assured me she would be at the bus station by 5:30 to catch the express for Seoul (Suze calls Wando home, so she was going to meet us in Seoul. She also brought her friend Dan, but he only stayed with us Friday night, Saturday he met up with his other friends).
5:45pm
Ali gets to the bus station. I wasn't mad after she explained why she was late...same thing has happened to me! (kidnapped by well-meaning Koreans)
6:40pm
We get on the bus to Seoul.
We didn't really talk the entire time, because Korean people HATE people who talk on the bus! We got told off really badly when we went to Yeosu the previous weekend.
11:30pm
We get off the bus in Seoul. (Incidentally this is when we had promised to meet Suze at Jongno samga, a metro station. We were late, but Suze had my cell number so we were confident we would meet her).
11:31pm
We realized we were going to have to use the scary machines to buy our metro tickets.
11:32pm
I decided to stare over the shoulder of a nice looking man while HE used the machine, in hopes that he would help us.
11.33pm
It worked! Turns out he was only going a stop away from us, so we chatted with him for the half hour it took to walk to the platform and travel to our respective stops. He was in his senior year of university. He was in Seoul to complete the longest job interview process I've ever heard of. He was really nervous. He said that questions could be really difficult, for example; how many gas stations are there in Korea? I really hope he got the job! He said that he had previously 'failed' at the fourth interview stage so he was super tense. But so sweet. Oh, lately I've just wanted to hug everyone I see.
12:00am
Ali and I arrive at Jongno samga. We had decided to stop at this random metro station, and then meet Suze and Dan aboveground. We were aware that subways generally have more than one exit, so we were prepared to look across the street to try and find Suze and Dan. We were NOT prepared for this particular stupid random metro station to have SEVENTEEN exits, spanning three city blocks. Opps. Oh well. Suze had our number. So Ali and I exited the subway in search of accomodations for the night, and something to eat as we had skipped supper.
12:05am
Ali and I realize we are quite possibly in the most sketchy, dangerous area of Seoul that ever existed. We exited the subway in a dark circle, with small roads and alleys jetting out from every which direction. We stuck our thumbs up our noses and stared until we were approached by a tall drunk man in a business suit.
"May I help you?"
"What kind help you need?"
Ali and I told him we didn't need any help, and resolved to stop looking like stupid tourists. We set off purposly down the widest alley with the most neon.
12:10am
Realize our surroundings have gone from sketchy to supersketchy. With the exceptions of Ali and myself every single person on the street is a drunk Korean male wearing a black business suit. And when I say drunk..I mean staggering, puking, yelling
D R U N K.
oops.
12:15am
Ali and I quickly backtrack. We eventually find the main road, and somewhere to eat. We walk into the restaurant. The manager looks TERRIFIED. Obviously not a lot of tourists come to this area. I didn't think he was going to let us in at first. He says: "Ah....Table...Very VERy small". Well, ok. We'll take a small table...
12:20am
After looking over the menu (that was in Korean and English), and veto-ing options like: 'gizzard and vegetables', 'spicy chicken feet', and 'silk larvae'. We decided on a spicy seafood soup and blended strawberry soju. Thankfully, Suze and Dan called, so they were able to join our feast.
1:00am
We decide finding a hotel room is a good idea.
1:05am
After walking a short way into another neon alleyway, we check out the Sky motel. The Sky motel is a love motel, about the only kind of motel we can afford. Love motels are just what they sound like. We might call them HOtels, and it's very clear you can rent a room by the hour. However, they are perfectly safe, and relatively cheap, so that's what we did.
1:10am
We checked into our rooms. Thoughtfully the motel provided us with giant bottles of lotion, hair gel, a comb and brush (used, of course) and bathrobes. We went to sleep immediately, and roasted as our rooms were heated to a sexy 25C.
Friday
5:00pm
I called Ali, and she assured me she would be at the bus station by 5:30 to catch the express for Seoul (Suze calls Wando home, so she was going to meet us in Seoul. She also brought her friend Dan, but he only stayed with us Friday night, Saturday he met up with his other friends).
5:45pm
Ali gets to the bus station. I wasn't mad after she explained why she was late...same thing has happened to me! (kidnapped by well-meaning Koreans)
6:40pm
We get on the bus to Seoul.
We didn't really talk the entire time, because Korean people HATE people who talk on the bus! We got told off really badly when we went to Yeosu the previous weekend.
11:30pm
We get off the bus in Seoul. (Incidentally this is when we had promised to meet Suze at Jongno samga, a metro station. We were late, but Suze had my cell number so we were confident we would meet her).
11:31pm
We realized we were going to have to use the scary machines to buy our metro tickets.
11:32pm
I decided to stare over the shoulder of a nice looking man while HE used the machine, in hopes that he would help us.
11.33pm
It worked! Turns out he was only going a stop away from us, so we chatted with him for the half hour it took to walk to the platform and travel to our respective stops. He was in his senior year of university. He was in Seoul to complete the longest job interview process I've ever heard of. He was really nervous. He said that questions could be really difficult, for example; how many gas stations are there in Korea? I really hope he got the job! He said that he had previously 'failed' at the fourth interview stage so he was super tense. But so sweet. Oh, lately I've just wanted to hug everyone I see.
12:00am
Ali and I arrive at Jongno samga. We had decided to stop at this random metro station, and then meet Suze and Dan aboveground. We were aware that subways generally have more than one exit, so we were prepared to look across the street to try and find Suze and Dan. We were NOT prepared for this particular stupid random metro station to have SEVENTEEN exits, spanning three city blocks. Opps. Oh well. Suze had our number. So Ali and I exited the subway in search of accomodations for the night, and something to eat as we had skipped supper.
12:05am
Ali and I realize we are quite possibly in the most sketchy, dangerous area of Seoul that ever existed. We exited the subway in a dark circle, with small roads and alleys jetting out from every which direction. We stuck our thumbs up our noses and stared until we were approached by a tall drunk man in a business suit.
"May I help you?"
"What kind help you need?"
Ali and I told him we didn't need any help, and resolved to stop looking like stupid tourists. We set off purposly down the widest alley with the most neon.
12:10am
Realize our surroundings have gone from sketchy to supersketchy. With the exceptions of Ali and myself every single person on the street is a drunk Korean male wearing a black business suit. And when I say drunk..I mean staggering, puking, yelling
D R U N K.
oops.
12:15am
Ali and I quickly backtrack. We eventually find the main road, and somewhere to eat. We walk into the restaurant. The manager looks TERRIFIED. Obviously not a lot of tourists come to this area. I didn't think he was going to let us in at first. He says: "Ah....Table...Very VERy small". Well, ok. We'll take a small table...
12:20am
After looking over the menu (that was in Korean and English), and veto-ing options like: 'gizzard and vegetables', 'spicy chicken feet', and 'silk larvae'. We decided on a spicy seafood soup and blended strawberry soju. Thankfully, Suze and Dan called, so they were able to join our feast.
1:00am
We decide finding a hotel room is a good idea.
1:05am
After walking a short way into another neon alleyway, we check out the Sky motel. The Sky motel is a love motel, about the only kind of motel we can afford. Love motels are just what they sound like. We might call them HOtels, and it's very clear you can rent a room by the hour. However, they are perfectly safe, and relatively cheap, so that's what we did.
1:10am
We checked into our rooms. Thoughtfully the motel provided us with giant bottles of lotion, hair gel, a comb and brush (used, of course) and bathrobes. We went to sleep immediately, and roasted as our rooms were heated to a sexy 25C.
Thursday, November 6, 2008
Hodge-Podge
It's Friday again!
Last night I dragged one of my friends to Korean aerobics class with me. It was a blast. We steamed up the mirrors, we laughed, and we danced. It was perfect.
I want to talk about a million things, so I'm going to resort to point form. I'm sorry!
1. After dance class my friend and I took advantage of the bathhouse type area in my gym. You have to take your clothes of in the change room, and then you walk into this humongous steaming room. (oh and no modesty allowed. Korean towels are the same size as hand towels back home). In the very middle of the room is a massive hottub, that usually has about ten women lounging inside (and the hottub-type thing is still mostly empty). On the left-hand side, there are rows and rows of sit-down showers (maybe 60 women were using these). There are only about 10 stand up showers, which is what we used. Little kids were running around (and falling, considering the slippery nature of wet tile), women were doing their laundry in these tubs, catching water from the stand-up showers (I literally had women standing behind me to catch the excess) and yet the over-all feeling was one of hushed serenity. My friend and I were the only foreigners, so we were being HARD-CORE stared at...but whatever. I was okay with it.
2. I went to my first Korean nightclub a couple of weekends ago. WHOA.
Korean nightclubs ARE NOT remotely similar to Canadian nightclubs. There is a dancefloor, but there are also rows and rows of tables, 2 couches to a table, 3 people per couch. You have to rent a table. For four of us girls it cost 40$CDN. Included in this price we also received 3litres of beer, and a snack tray. We were sat with two Korean men who couldn't have been less thrilled with our appearence at their table (I THINK that men have to pay more for their tables, and if they send drinks to women, the women are obligated to sit with them? But I don't know for sure). The waiter asked me how old I was, and I told him. Then he told me he was taking my purse. I said 'no' (it was a really small purse). He made a disgusted noise at me and stalked off.
In relative order, the entertainment consisted of:
-Korean pop played from loudspeakers.
-The same, but with dancers (usually two males on stage)
-A live band being lowered from the ceiling (they played for maybe half an hour)
-A male stripper who stripped down to NOTHING (I really wasn't expecting full-frontal male nudity, just so you know)
-A female stripper who took a shower on stage (yet managed to keep her underwear on).
At one point a Korean man asked me to sit at his table. I did (he was really nice). But one of my friends whose been here for a while thought it was sketch and made me leave. She said it was probably fine, but potentially volatile. Awesome/weird night in any case.
3. I had my first (and most DEFINITELY last) Korean massage. My only advice:
FOR THE LOVE OF ALL THAT'S GOOD IN THIS WORLD DON'T DO IT!!!
It was the most painful half hour of my life. Maybe even worse than getting a tattoo. At one point she started PUNCHING my SPINE. She also covered me in oil, then covered me in a skratchy towel and started vigioursly scrubing me. I was aftraid I wouldn't have any skin left. And it was not the case that I felt really good when it was over. I couldn't sleep on my back that night because it felt so bruised!
I think that's all the time I have to share my new experiences with you. I am off to see cirque de soleil in Seoul tonight!
Last night I dragged one of my friends to Korean aerobics class with me. It was a blast. We steamed up the mirrors, we laughed, and we danced. It was perfect.
I want to talk about a million things, so I'm going to resort to point form. I'm sorry!
1. After dance class my friend and I took advantage of the bathhouse type area in my gym. You have to take your clothes of in the change room, and then you walk into this humongous steaming room. (oh and no modesty allowed. Korean towels are the same size as hand towels back home). In the very middle of the room is a massive hottub, that usually has about ten women lounging inside (and the hottub-type thing is still mostly empty). On the left-hand side, there are rows and rows of sit-down showers (maybe 60 women were using these). There are only about 10 stand up showers, which is what we used. Little kids were running around (and falling, considering the slippery nature of wet tile), women were doing their laundry in these tubs, catching water from the stand-up showers (I literally had women standing behind me to catch the excess) and yet the over-all feeling was one of hushed serenity. My friend and I were the only foreigners, so we were being HARD-CORE stared at...but whatever. I was okay with it.
2. I went to my first Korean nightclub a couple of weekends ago. WHOA.
Korean nightclubs ARE NOT remotely similar to Canadian nightclubs. There is a dancefloor, but there are also rows and rows of tables, 2 couches to a table, 3 people per couch. You have to rent a table. For four of us girls it cost 40$CDN. Included in this price we also received 3litres of beer, and a snack tray. We were sat with two Korean men who couldn't have been less thrilled with our appearence at their table (I THINK that men have to pay more for their tables, and if they send drinks to women, the women are obligated to sit with them? But I don't know for sure). The waiter asked me how old I was, and I told him. Then he told me he was taking my purse. I said 'no' (it was a really small purse). He made a disgusted noise at me and stalked off.
In relative order, the entertainment consisted of:
-Korean pop played from loudspeakers.
-The same, but with dancers (usually two males on stage)
-A live band being lowered from the ceiling (they played for maybe half an hour)
-A male stripper who stripped down to NOTHING (I really wasn't expecting full-frontal male nudity, just so you know)
-A female stripper who took a shower on stage (yet managed to keep her underwear on).
At one point a Korean man asked me to sit at his table. I did (he was really nice). But one of my friends whose been here for a while thought it was sketch and made me leave. She said it was probably fine, but potentially volatile. Awesome/weird night in any case.
3. I had my first (and most DEFINITELY last) Korean massage. My only advice:
FOR THE LOVE OF ALL THAT'S GOOD IN THIS WORLD DON'T DO IT!!!
It was the most painful half hour of my life. Maybe even worse than getting a tattoo. At one point she started PUNCHING my SPINE. She also covered me in oil, then covered me in a skratchy towel and started vigioursly scrubing me. I was aftraid I wouldn't have any skin left. And it was not the case that I felt really good when it was over. I couldn't sleep on my back that night because it felt so bruised!
I think that's all the time I have to share my new experiences with you. I am off to see cirque de soleil in Seoul tonight!
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