My old friend Nick arrived in Seoul the Sunday before last to be an ESL teacher. He is in a suburb called Namyangu about an hour outside of Seoul by bus. He came in over the weekend and we went out to the Gangnam area. It's a popular nightlife spot but is much more Korean than Itaewon or Hongdae. We ended up going to a hip-hop club which was pretty funny in Korea. I'm pretty sure we were the only foreigners there and it was a huge club. And yesterday, I went out to visit him in Namyangu. It was the first time I saw anything like it in Korea. It was pretty much a small town. There was a little main street with shops and restaurants, but everything else was just apartment buildings...and lots of space. There were actually empty spaces. And trees. There were hardly any people in the streets, and when I left a few hours later it was completely dead. It was very, very quiet, and the air was noticeably cleaner. Everything was much cheaper as well. I had dinner for 3500 won, which is much less than the dinner we had when he came to Seoul (ended up being 36,000 for the two of us, much more expensive than usual, but still).
One of the teachers there had bought some package where he could watch any NFL game online (and up to four at once) without commercials. We went to a bar and put it up on a projector, and it was great to get to watch football again. It's definitely the best way to watch the sport. No commercials, only the plays, and you never have to wait for something to happen since there's always another game to watch. Four is actually too many though, I think two or three would be better. The Seahawks got beat and then the 49ers won in Arizona, so our playoff hopes are definitely still alive even though we're 4-7. If we beat the Seahawks next week, we're tied with them at 5-7. But Frank Gore got hurt in the Cardinals game so that pretty much ruins our season. The NFC West has got to be the most pathetic division in the history of sports, and I'm sure the division winner will be under .500.
Tuesday, November 30, 2010
Itaewon
That weekend I went to Itaewon (foreign town) for the first time. It's right by a military base and is the central place in Korea for foreigners. It's not that big but has lots of foreign shops and especially restaurants. You can find cuisine from just about any country you want, which was great (eating Korean food every meal, with the occasional McDonald's or Burger King gets old). I had some great Turkish food. Went to a lounge/club with one of my coworkers and it was cool (hardly any foreigners at that one). Went to another one afterwards for a bit that was also mainly Koreans and went home afterwards. Overall, I wasn't a fan, and I doubt I'll go more than every once in a very long while. The food is great but it's too far to go for a meal, and the whole scene is pretty trashy and too foreign for my tastes. It kind of reflects poorly on American culture, it seems to comprised of foreign English teachers looking for Korean girls and mostly a bunch of GI's. The GI's are everywhere and you can always tell that they aren't English teachers. They're usually stumbling around drunkenly with Korean prostitutes. It's too bad that these are the only foreigners Koreans are exposed to, and the Koreans have told me they have a terrible reputation here for being loud, obnoxious, and always looking for a fight.
Funny story
After that first game of soccer I headed home and ate dinner at McDonald's (it felt appropriate, after having been with a group of foreigners). While I was waiting for my food two Korean marines in full dress uniform (hat and everything) were standing next to me. One of them, with a red Asian glow, said "Hi! How are you doing?" so we talked for a little bit. We got our food and I asked if I could join them, and they really wanted me to. The one who first spoke to me in English went to Seoul National University (I live right by it and it's Korea's most competitive university, meaning it's about as hard to get into as any school in the world) and had a great command of the language. That was really nice, because when they don't speak the language too well there's not much you can talk about. The other one didn't speak English quite as well and went to a different university. He was an aspiring artist. I can't remember if they knew each other before the marines or not, but they were close friends.
I asked why on earth they were in the marines...it's the most hardcore military service you can do there (all Korean males are required to serve). You can be a policeman, and some guys can do some sort of non-combat volunteer thing. But I had no idea why an artist and an SNU student with great English would be in the marines. The artist said he wanted to do it for the experience, since that was part of being an artist, or something like that (his English wasn't so good). The SNU guy did it because the marines "were the best," he said. But they sure did hate it. Especially the artist. They were on some sort of leave and they were trying to have as much fun as possible before they had to go back, something they were really dreading. Being a Korean marine is not like being in the US military, they said, it's much harder. Judging by how hardcore their education system is, I don't even want to know what it's like to be a marine in Korea. So I asked them after the meal if they wanted to go drinking, and they thought it was a good idea.
We went to a restaurant/bar type place and order a bunch of typically spicy Korean food and some soju. They also called up a friend of there's who they said had good English (she didn't). They said she used to be able to drink more than all of them, but had a stomach problem and couldn't drink any more. After she came, she called up another friend who she said had great English (he did, he lived in the UK for two years and is an SNU student). We played all of these Korean drinking games, a few of which have equivalents in the US. The funniest part though is everytime you lose the game and have to take a shot, everyone does this song and dance (literally, it's a synchronized song and dance and everyone does the same motions) that I can't really describe, but it ends with all of them pointing at you and yelling "one shot!" We ordered a few bottles of soju and some pitchers and eventually the marines (who had had a big head start, of course) passed out at the table. We put them in a cab and sent them home, or wherever they had to go, and I went with the guy to another bar/restaurant and had some more food and drink. As we were leaving the bar, the owner, an ajomma (middle aged woman) told me (my friend translated the Korean) that I was very handsome and that she wanted me to come in at 11 PM tomorrow to meet her daughter, who would be working there at that time.
The next day I didn't have classes and figured I might as well go, what's the worst that could happen. I'd talk to some disfigured Korean girl for a few minutes and leave and it would be a funny story. So I walk into the restaurant a little after eleven, and there was a girl about my age working there who was possibly the best looking Korean I've seen in my month here. This must be some sort of joke, I thought. We'd talk for a little bit and then I'd see Ashton Kutcher running towards my table with a retarded grin on his face. Unfortunately the woman wasn't there, and this girl spoke no English whatsoever. There was no English on the menu so I picked a random item on the menu that ended up being terrible. After a while, her mom showed up, and motioned for my phone, and through charades somehow told me to call up my friend (not sure how I figured it out). She spoke to him in Korean and told him to come down. He did (and commented on my terrible food choice), and she brought her daughter over.
She was incredibly shy, but we talked to each other through my friend, the interpreter. Have you ever spoken through an interpreter? It is awesome! It makes you feel so badass, and that whatever you're saying is really important or profound. Anyways, we made some small talk, and she said she really wanted to talk to me but that she was embarassed about her English. She didn't speak a single word of English the entire time. My friend told me that she was the type that was obviously very shy around foreigners, but even around Koreans as well, especially guys. He said that she was very shy to him and could hardly talk to him or look him in the eye. She's an aspiring model and is going to school for it since someone told her she had the right facial structure or something like that, and the mom of course came over and asked if they looked alike, and was very proud when I said yes.
Anyway, the mom spoke to my friend and we made plans to get together the next Monday for a tour of Seoul (one of the girl's friends would come along so my friend would have someone to talk to). They asked me if I wanted to see traditional stuff or modern stuff, and I said traditional. On Sunday though my friend texted her and she said she was too busy at work to come (obviously not true since it was going to be on a Monday afternoon and since her mom was the one who wanted it to happen and would have let her have the day off). He told me that she was just too shy. I wanted to go again during the week but he was too busy with school (SNU), so maybe at some point this week maybe we can convince her. I doubt it. But it was a funny story nonetheless.
I asked why on earth they were in the marines...it's the most hardcore military service you can do there (all Korean males are required to serve). You can be a policeman, and some guys can do some sort of non-combat volunteer thing. But I had no idea why an artist and an SNU student with great English would be in the marines. The artist said he wanted to do it for the experience, since that was part of being an artist, or something like that (his English wasn't so good). The SNU guy did it because the marines "were the best," he said. But they sure did hate it. Especially the artist. They were on some sort of leave and they were trying to have as much fun as possible before they had to go back, something they were really dreading. Being a Korean marine is not like being in the US military, they said, it's much harder. Judging by how hardcore their education system is, I don't even want to know what it's like to be a marine in Korea. So I asked them after the meal if they wanted to go drinking, and they thought it was a good idea.
We went to a restaurant/bar type place and order a bunch of typically spicy Korean food and some soju. They also called up a friend of there's who they said had good English (she didn't). They said she used to be able to drink more than all of them, but had a stomach problem and couldn't drink any more. After she came, she called up another friend who she said had great English (he did, he lived in the UK for two years and is an SNU student). We played all of these Korean drinking games, a few of which have equivalents in the US. The funniest part though is everytime you lose the game and have to take a shot, everyone does this song and dance (literally, it's a synchronized song and dance and everyone does the same motions) that I can't really describe, but it ends with all of them pointing at you and yelling "one shot!" We ordered a few bottles of soju and some pitchers and eventually the marines (who had had a big head start, of course) passed out at the table. We put them in a cab and sent them home, or wherever they had to go, and I went with the guy to another bar/restaurant and had some more food and drink. As we were leaving the bar, the owner, an ajomma (middle aged woman) told me (my friend translated the Korean) that I was very handsome and that she wanted me to come in at 11 PM tomorrow to meet her daughter, who would be working there at that time.
The next day I didn't have classes and figured I might as well go, what's the worst that could happen. I'd talk to some disfigured Korean girl for a few minutes and leave and it would be a funny story. So I walk into the restaurant a little after eleven, and there was a girl about my age working there who was possibly the best looking Korean I've seen in my month here. This must be some sort of joke, I thought. We'd talk for a little bit and then I'd see Ashton Kutcher running towards my table with a retarded grin on his face. Unfortunately the woman wasn't there, and this girl spoke no English whatsoever. There was no English on the menu so I picked a random item on the menu that ended up being terrible. After a while, her mom showed up, and motioned for my phone, and through charades somehow told me to call up my friend (not sure how I figured it out). She spoke to him in Korean and told him to come down. He did (and commented on my terrible food choice), and she brought her daughter over.
She was incredibly shy, but we talked to each other through my friend, the interpreter. Have you ever spoken through an interpreter? It is awesome! It makes you feel so badass, and that whatever you're saying is really important or profound. Anyways, we made some small talk, and she said she really wanted to talk to me but that she was embarassed about her English. She didn't speak a single word of English the entire time. My friend told me that she was the type that was obviously very shy around foreigners, but even around Koreans as well, especially guys. He said that she was very shy to him and could hardly talk to him or look him in the eye. She's an aspiring model and is going to school for it since someone told her she had the right facial structure or something like that, and the mom of course came over and asked if they looked alike, and was very proud when I said yes.
Anyway, the mom spoke to my friend and we made plans to get together the next Monday for a tour of Seoul (one of the girl's friends would come along so my friend would have someone to talk to). They asked me if I wanted to see traditional stuff or modern stuff, and I said traditional. On Sunday though my friend texted her and she said she was too busy at work to come (obviously not true since it was going to be on a Monday afternoon and since her mom was the one who wanted it to happen and would have let her have the day off). He told me that she was just too shy. I wanted to go again during the week but he was too busy with school (SNU), so maybe at some point this week maybe we can convince her. I doubt it. But it was a funny story nonetheless.
Monday, November 29, 2010
Soccer (sorry for the delay)
I'd like to apologize to my three readers for the delay in the posts. It's easy to procrastinate on this stuff. I'll start off with exactly two weeks ago (I think). I played my first soccer game. I looked all over the ESL forum for anything soccer related, and it was hard to find. There were a few organized teams that played on weekends (something I can't commit too, since many of my few classes are on weekends), but that didn't appeal to me too much because they were probably really, really good (mainly people from the British Isles and Koreans, I'm guessing) and would be the type that would get really pissed off if you made a mistake. Pick-up is more fun. Anyways, there was one pickup game at 7AM on Saturdays far away, which really didn't appeal to me, and another one on Sundays at the same time as one of my classes. Luckily, I did find a group that plays on Tuesdays at 7, when I don't have class. The problem is it's really far away: in the suburbs of Seoul, and between an hour and an hour and a half from my house (though from my school it is much closer), but it's worth it because I really need some exercise. I don't like gyms and heard bad things about Korean gyms, and anyway, they're all between 60-70 dollars a month. Not worth it.
The field is gravel and pretty small with huge goals. We take it for granted in the US how many parks there are. There are two or three within a very short distance from my house that are very large, with nice grass. I've only seen a few parks in my entire time here. They never have any grass, usually only a basketball court or two, and a sort of courtyard with some benches where you can sit. I don't know what Koreans do for exercise. From what I hear the gym thing hasn't really caught on here too much, and they don't have much in terms of indoor soccer from what I hear. I think in the winter they just play badminton and in the summer, soccer and baseball, but I have no idea where they play those two.
Anyways, it was lots of fun to finally play soccer again. The first game I was terrible, there are a few English and Irish that come that are really good, and one of them might be one of the best soccer players I've ever played pick-up with (he's on a serious organized team as well). It's really hard to get used to controlling the ball on the surface, it rolls very easily, almost like playing indoor on a basketball court or something. After a couple weeks of playing I still can't really use my left foot. They decided to start playing twice a week though, so that's good, and I've gotten more used to it and had a couple of good games. But less and less people are showing up (weather, maybe? It's getting really cold here) so I don't know how much longer we'll be able to do it.
It was good though to meet up with a group of waegookin (foreigners) because it was only my second time doing so. They're a fairly likeable bunch so it'll be nice to have that during the week. We'll see how my schedule turns out, I might start getting night-time classes on Tuesdays and Thursdays, and we might have to stop doing it for lack of interest.
The field is gravel and pretty small with huge goals. We take it for granted in the US how many parks there are. There are two or three within a very short distance from my house that are very large, with nice grass. I've only seen a few parks in my entire time here. They never have any grass, usually only a basketball court or two, and a sort of courtyard with some benches where you can sit. I don't know what Koreans do for exercise. From what I hear the gym thing hasn't really caught on here too much, and they don't have much in terms of indoor soccer from what I hear. I think in the winter they just play badminton and in the summer, soccer and baseball, but I have no idea where they play those two.
Anyways, it was lots of fun to finally play soccer again. The first game I was terrible, there are a few English and Irish that come that are really good, and one of them might be one of the best soccer players I've ever played pick-up with (he's on a serious organized team as well). It's really hard to get used to controlling the ball on the surface, it rolls very easily, almost like playing indoor on a basketball court or something. After a couple weeks of playing I still can't really use my left foot. They decided to start playing twice a week though, so that's good, and I've gotten more used to it and had a couple of good games. But less and less people are showing up (weather, maybe? It's getting really cold here) so I don't know how much longer we'll be able to do it.
It was good though to meet up with a group of waegookin (foreigners) because it was only my second time doing so. They're a fairly likeable bunch so it'll be nice to have that during the week. We'll see how my schedule turns out, I might start getting night-time classes on Tuesdays and Thursdays, and we might have to stop doing it for lack of interest.
Friday, November 12, 2010
Expats
They funniest part of that evening was this expat at the bar. I'd seen him twice before, he actually lives in the apartment complex right across the street from me. I've seen him smoking cigarettes outside there before, once really early in the morning. Anyways, he's the most stereotypical looking expat. In his 50's, dresses very sloppily, usually in sweats (I've seen him wearing sandals, too), smokes a lot of cigarettes, and is completely bald with long gray hair, and very fat. Kind of looked a little like a bum version of Jack Nicholson, actually.
He acts like the most stereotypical expat as well. He was alone at the bar I went to, and was really drunk and ocassionaly making conversation with the Koreans who wanted to practice their English. Speaking really loudly and slurring his speech in a really stereotypical American voice, like he was trying to assert his Amurrickan-ness. "Obama blah blah blah blah..." "People blame the Americans but it's the Europeans' fault!" And other lame conversation about America and the world. At one point I hear him yell to the Korean "I love you as a man. And I mean that, I'm not joking. I love your country..." I didn't hear anything after that but I'm pretty sure the Korean stopped talking to him shortly thereafter. He monopolized one of the bartender's time as well, and the poor girl had to oblige, of course. I heard him drunkingly yell at one point how much he loved her. She didn't look too pleased. And then of course when I had to go to the bathroom, I saw him get up too to join me and find an ear to talk to. He starts talking about getting old and not being able to pee, and I'm just like, "Yep. Happens to everybody," and left as soon as I could.
What is it with these expats? What do they do for a living? Koreans only want young English teachers and from what I hear, it's very difficult to get an ESL job over here if you're over 30. And why do they come here? I guess it's the same type of person, the old loser that can't fit in in America so he goes to some other country where he thinks they might not be able to tell the difference. No wonder we have such a bad reputation overseas. It's too bad that we have these types representing America abroad.
He acts like the most stereotypical expat as well. He was alone at the bar I went to, and was really drunk and ocassionaly making conversation with the Koreans who wanted to practice their English. Speaking really loudly and slurring his speech in a really stereotypical American voice, like he was trying to assert his Amurrickan-ness. "Obama blah blah blah blah..." "People blame the Americans but it's the Europeans' fault!" And other lame conversation about America and the world. At one point I hear him yell to the Korean "I love you as a man. And I mean that, I'm not joking. I love your country..." I didn't hear anything after that but I'm pretty sure the Korean stopped talking to him shortly thereafter. He monopolized one of the bartender's time as well, and the poor girl had to oblige, of course. I heard him drunkingly yell at one point how much he loved her. She didn't look too pleased. And then of course when I had to go to the bathroom, I saw him get up too to join me and find an ear to talk to. He starts talking about getting old and not being able to pee, and I'm just like, "Yep. Happens to everybody," and left as soon as I could.
What is it with these expats? What do they do for a living? Koreans only want young English teachers and from what I hear, it's very difficult to get an ESL job over here if you're over 30. And why do they come here? I guess it's the same type of person, the old loser that can't fit in in America so he goes to some other country where he thinks they might not be able to tell the difference. No wonder we have such a bad reputation overseas. It's too bad that we have these types representing America abroad.
Sometimes, it's not always an adventure
The thing with these types of trips is people make it sound like they're constantly having an adventure. As if they were having some crazy experience every minute. It's definitely not like that though, at least for me. Maybe I'm doing something wrong though. But I do think it's a good thing...if you were having an adventure every single minute, than none of it would be an adventure, would it? It would just be normal. You need to have boring times along with the good, so that way, when you do have a crazy experience, it stands out.
Last night was a perfect example. I went out to a bar very close to my house, hoping for an adventure. There wasn't one. I just sat there and had a beer or two and talked to the bartenders in English. Their English was surprisingly good but, nonetheless, still not good enough for decent conversation other than "How old are you?" and "What are you hobbies?" Mostly I just watched TV. Apocalyptico was on, which had English subtitles of course, and that's the type of movie you can be vaguely entertained by when you're at a bar. Then some movie came on where this pimply guy (he seriously had zits on his forehead even though he was in his 40s) who has this hot blond wife (who's cheating on him, but he cheated on her as well with some middle-aged lady), and they go to some Asian country and after he gets ice during their romantic evening he comes back to the room to find blood on the bed and his wife gone, and then he gets knocked out. The room is immaculate afterwards and when he talks to the detective, they don't seemt o believe him (of course there were no English subtitles and no volume so I'm just guessing).
None of the Koreans other than the bartender seemed to want to make conversation. There was a white guy and girl (maybe a couple) that came into the bar, and though I thought about running up to them and saying "Hey whities!" I decided against it. There's just too many foreigners in Seoul. When I was going home from the bar I actually ran into another white guy, who had the same jacket as I did (it was one I bought in Korea), but again, it's not that big of a deal to run into a white person here. In another town you would've immediately stopped and chatted and become good ol' pals but not here.
Last night was a perfect example. I went out to a bar very close to my house, hoping for an adventure. There wasn't one. I just sat there and had a beer or two and talked to the bartenders in English. Their English was surprisingly good but, nonetheless, still not good enough for decent conversation other than "How old are you?" and "What are you hobbies?" Mostly I just watched TV. Apocalyptico was on, which had English subtitles of course, and that's the type of movie you can be vaguely entertained by when you're at a bar. Then some movie came on where this pimply guy (he seriously had zits on his forehead even though he was in his 40s) who has this hot blond wife (who's cheating on him, but he cheated on her as well with some middle-aged lady), and they go to some Asian country and after he gets ice during their romantic evening he comes back to the room to find blood on the bed and his wife gone, and then he gets knocked out. The room is immaculate afterwards and when he talks to the detective, they don't seemt o believe him (of course there were no English subtitles and no volume so I'm just guessing).
None of the Koreans other than the bartender seemed to want to make conversation. There was a white guy and girl (maybe a couple) that came into the bar, and though I thought about running up to them and saying "Hey whities!" I decided against it. There's just too many foreigners in Seoul. When I was going home from the bar I actually ran into another white guy, who had the same jacket as I did (it was one I bought in Korea), but again, it's not that big of a deal to run into a white person here. In another town you would've immediately stopped and chatted and become good ol' pals but not here.
The roller-coaster ride of your opinion of Korea
The weird thing about Korea is your opinion of it changes daily, or more like hourly, in fact...sometimes, even minutely (can you use that as a word other than the other word minutely? I really doubt it). It's the craziest thing. I'll be sitting in a restaurant, and my opinion of Korea will change several times during the meal. I'll be sipping on the octopus soup, thinking about how glad I am to be here. Then I'm eating my rice, struggling with my chopsticks, and wondering how the hell I got here. It's completely absurd, and there's no way to predict it either. Your mood just sort of shifts constantly, mostly independent from environmental stimuli.
I talked to Valerie about it and she immediately agreed. In fact, she said, pretty much every foreigner in Korea talks about it constantly, and it's one of the main things that people relate on. Everyone gets the same mood shifts, and when people from home ask you about Korea, it's pretty hard to give a straight answer other than "Well, it's pretty crazy." It's a little weird, and I don't understand it, but I kind of like it, it adds to the whole adventure thing. So if you're coming to Korea and reading this, definitely be prepared for the roller coaster ride of emotions.
I talked to Valerie about it and she immediately agreed. In fact, she said, pretty much every foreigner in Korea talks about it constantly, and it's one of the main things that people relate on. Everyone gets the same mood shifts, and when people from home ask you about Korea, it's pretty hard to give a straight answer other than "Well, it's pretty crazy." It's a little weird, and I don't understand it, but I kind of like it, it adds to the whole adventure thing. So if you're coming to Korea and reading this, definitely be prepared for the roller coaster ride of emotions.
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