FINALLY! A concert worth going to…

As much as I love Korea, it is incredibly music starved. I assume that because they have risen to such a high status in such a short period of time, Korea has stayed very insular, producing their own pop sensations and musical acts, but, at the same time, has avoided fully embracing foreign music, especially smaller independent acts. This seems strange, considering Japan’s full acceptence of the American underground music and artistic scene, but I guess Japan has been an international world power for a long time. Well, after 11 months, there was finally a live show that I was excited to see! Jens Lekman, one of my current favorite solo artists, played 2 nights in a row in Hongdae, the college-townesque burough of Seoul. It was fantastic. Well worth the wait. Below are some pictures of Jens and me and some of the company I went with. The pictures of Jens are pretty bad – it was incredibly crowded and hard to get a good shot.

This is one of my coworkers, Josh, and two of the girls from POLY’s administration office.

This is Jens…here are a few more…

Richard and I looking like a couple of creeps. That’s Mina. She works with us AND speaks Korean, Japanese, and English…awesome.

Richard, young Ben Sommers (aptly nicknamed B.S.) Amy, Mina, and myself at the concert. I never noticed before, but the gentleman in the background wearing the beanie looks to be in incredible pain.

All in all…great time.

It’s a bit stereotypical, but…

…I ate some dog tonight. Not even just dog meat, but I gnawed on bones too. Surprisingly, it was very good. When in Rome…

Busan!

So, last weekend I went to Busan, which is about a 5 hour bus ride from Seoul. It is South Korea’s largest port/beach city, and it (presumably) has the largest seafood market in all of Asia (that seems like a bold statement though). It was a little too cool to be in the water, but the beach was awesome in itself. There was a pretty huge sand festival, and many sand sculptures covered the shore. The food I ate at the market was…interesting, to say the least…check out some pictures…

An update…

I know it’s been a while since I have posted anything of much substance on here, but, alas, I’m not generally sitting at my computer. However, last weekend was pretty interesting, so I’d like to include some recent photos of that and some other that’s just…well…random, I guess.

Today is Buddha’s birthday, which is a national holiday in Korea. On one hand, it’s fantastic, since I didn’t have to work today. On the other hand, many places are closed, including the hair shop that cuts my hair for $8…the nerve of them.  That being said (about Buddha’s bday, not about my $8 hair cut), last weekend was when the real celebration was. I have no idea why it was a weak before, but it’s called the Lotus Lantern and Buddhist street festival. It was in Insadong, which I’ve mentioned on here before. There was a whole street blocked off with many tents on various forms of Buddhism and their effects and differences within other cultures, Buddhist food tents, and just a lot of other non-Buddhism related festivities. Jennifer and I went, but we didn’t stay too long, as it started to sprinkle. But, I did like some of the pictures:

We were greeted by these guys and girls (it was hard to distinguish) as we entered Insadong.

This guy was just hanging out giving high fives and hugs. He definitely warmed my soul a bit.

Here’s the entrance to the Jogyesa Temple. It doesn’t look like much, but it gets better. Also, keep in mind that this is right in the middle of Seoul.

That sign on the pole reads “No Honkeys” so we waited patiently outside the Temple.

It’s his birthday today! (The gold guy, not the random dude standing in front of my camera) To be celebratory, I got the Buddha a pretty cliche over-the-hill tshirt.

A little blurry, but you get the point.

These kids were just hanging out singing on some street corner. My first assumption was that the were being punished for some sort of juvenile delinquency by participating in some beautifully-costumed community service.

This is pretty much my general response to all things Asian.

Oh, also, before I go, I got this, too:

It’s my new ride to explore the city, which I have been doing. This weekend I rode to the World Cup Stadium, which, from my borough, is about a 50 mile trip both ways. Don’t worry, I took those stupid reflectors off of the rims.

Until next time…

interesting week

it’s been a good week. on saturday I went to the Korean War Museum and learned a bunch of stuff, which I am definitely into. the museum had a lot of artifacts from very early periods as well as two whole floors dedicated to the Korean War with really interesting videos on the North KoreanJapanese/Chinese/Russian invasion of South Korea during the 50s. Pretty sweet. Here’s a picture of the front of the museum:

I then went to Insadong, which is an area of town that is proud of it’s tradition retention. as it should be. I went to a tea shop that literally made me feel that I had traveled back in time a few hundred years. I was surprised that the woman who owned the shop had room for Jennifer and I, as the place maybe only sat a dozen people tops. after depositing our shoes in the cubby by the door, we sat at a little table and awaited our tea. there were live birds just hanging out in cages and (supposedly) live squirrels and crabs in wall-size aquariums, although I didn’t see them. perhaps they were sleeping. anyways, the tea was phenomenal, except for the affect it produced after drinking. the ginger tea we ordered put both jennifer and i into such a calm state that we could barely hold a conversation on the subway ride home. it was like xanax tea. fun, nonetheless.

sunday was very relaxing. i went to Kangnam, a more upscale, ritzy part of town to hang out at some coffee shops and read. i stumbled across these girls just hanging out:

pretty typical gear.

on monday night a few of my fellow teachers were feeling like Noraebang, which is like karaoke, except for the fact that you get your own room to enclose your tone-deafness. This was my first time singing, and it was really fun. Here are a few of my jerk friends:

Richard.

Chris.

Edwin.

Until next time…

i got some new stuff for my pad…

…such as a cat. And a chair. Which the cat has been slowly tearing up from the day I got him. He is a pure-bred Russian Blue and I got him for an unbelievable deal, as the teacher who I bought him from doesn’t want to transport him (and her dog) back to the states when she leaves. His name was Asahi, since the first thing he knocked over in his old owner’s apartment was an Asahi can (which is a Japanese beer). However, I wanted to be more pretentious and obviously name him after a literary character. This being said, I must backtrack a spell to let you know his character. He is incredibly regal in his movements and will stay aloof as long as there is something of interest to him. However, when he wants attention (which is whenever he loses interest in whatever he’s trying to devour or pounce on, he demands attention with such ferocity that you almost have to indulge him. Because of these traits, his new name is Gatsby. I think its fitting.

Here’s another one.

Chair + cat = a good reading spot

My apartment seems a little more lived in now. Cozy, even.

you can call me…for free!

So I finally dropped some money and got SkypePro, which is basically the greatest thing since hummus and pita bread.  With SkypePro, I now have a number back in the states, a local 419 number, that you can call me on, which will dial into my computer for me to answer.  My internet connection is pretty shoddy at the moment, because I haven’t gotten my alien registration card yet and until I get that I can’t legally get internet.  But I have a wireless connection that I’m “borrowing” from my unsuspecting neighbors.  If I don’t answer, there is voicemail on there too, so please leave me a message!  My number is:

419.830.4768

You can call me from a cell phone or a landline.  Also, anyone else with Skype can call me on my Skype for free, anytime.  I have a web camera and what not now too, so I’m your hooked up with one of those we can video chat and all that.  I can even send text messages to your cell phones!  I’m excited.  So, someone, please call me.  I’m out usually most of the time, but I would love to hear some American voices.

new apartment fixtures…

So I got a new rug and traditional low Korean coffee table today.  I’m not so psyched on how the rug looks, but it was cheap.  Nice rugs here, unless you go to the Namdaemun market (which is about 45 minutes by subway) are expensive, so I got this one for 12 bucks.  Also, a fellow teacher of mine is trying to “de-clutter” his life, and is getting rid of all kinds of stuff.  So he gave me this coffee table for 5 bucks, which is pretty great, since I almost bought the exact same one yesterday for 50!  He is also selling me his playstation 2 like 10 games (which I don’t really care about) for 50 bucks.  I wanted it so I can watch dvd’s.  My apartment came with a VCR?  Who uses a VCR?!  So, that will be a nice new luxury.  Here are my new finds:

The table is a very low, traditional table, so I have to sit Indian-style.  Many of the restaurants here are like that too.  You take your shoes off when you enter, and then you sit on the ground at a table and dig in.

some pictures

I went walking for quite a while today. It was a nice way to settle my mind, which hasn’t been able to slow down for two weeks with getting adjusted to the city and such a fast-paced work environment. I thought I’d share a few photos that I liked.

There’s not much land in Seoul, so everyone, literally, lives in an apartment. Houses do not exist here. This was one apartment complex that I thought looked pretty intense. Imagine living here.

Olympic Park is incredible. It’s a 1.5 million square meters of trails and wildlife and trees right in the middle of an all-concrete and steel Seoul. Here are a few pictures of the park.

Here is what my neighborhood looks light from a hill in the park.

And here is my school – POLY Returnee Academy. We are on floors 2, 3, and 5. Also, to the right of our building (it’s not in the picture) is a driving range that is probably 12 or 15 stories high.

This is my street:

Hilarious…

Tonight I had a really funny conversation with a Korean – in English, which is very odd unless the Korean is 6 or 7.  Tonight I went to Gangnam, which is the hip, young, ritzy part of Seoul, and found a vinyl bar, which was amazing.  The entire backdrop of the bar was vinyl, mostly American and English records, and you could request songs.  So as I was listening to the Rolling Stones, a Korean about my age approaches me and says this: “I see you in my dreams.”  To which I say: “I’m sorry, what?”  He then sits down, offers to buy to me a drink, and explains that he has seen me somewhere before and that I show up in his dreams at night.  I offer the usual information.  “Well, I’m from Ohio, have you ever been there?” He hasn’t ever been to America.  Then, after much confusion, he says this: “It’s like you are on television.” I immediately know what he means and I am immediately infuriated that I cannot get away from this doppleganger of mine.  I tell him: “I’m Charlie from Lost.” OOOOhhhh, thank you!! Yes! Charlie!!  With the drugs and you die!!”  That was his response.  Amazing.  I move across the world and I’m still Charlie from Lost.  I can’t believe it.