That wasn't on the list of things to do...

You wouldn't think that so many things could go wrong in a 5 day span; but after it's all said and done, those things are what you remember most!

My friends, Amanda (Mac Momma / Group Leader), Shauna (the American Dancing Goddess), and I (the Scorpion Queen) decided to take a trip to Beijing for our summer vacation. Everyday was packed with tourist attractions, photo ops, and broccoli, lots of broccoli!
We did the essentials: Lama Temple, a rickshaw ride, 2008 Olympic Park (the Birds Nest), the GREAT WALL OF CHINA, the Forbidden City, the Summer Palace, the Temple of Heaven and much more! All of these things were so beautiful and the Great Wall was... beyond words.

Although what we saw was incredible, what happened on our trip was what really made it memorable. I thought that China and Korea would be very similar; boy was I wrong. I did not get glared at, pointed at (much), people did not run into me, and they were very warm and welcoming. Not sure if I felt like a freak show or a celebrity, but everywhere we went, people were taking our pictures. The brave would come up to us and ask if they could take a photo with us. It was like a domino effect, once the first person asked, it wouldn't stop! This happened everyday, at almost every tourist attraction, and would last anywhere from 2-10 minutes; people would just be circled around us!
The kids were so cute, but we noticed that a lot of kids were running around without clothes on (even in restaurants) and if they were wearing clothes, the babies, the crotch of their pants was cut out for potty training purposes that I do not understand. I wanted to take a picture, but I thought it was a little too inappropriate. I saw many kids just pop a squat to make anywhere the new bathroom.

Speaking of bathrooms; GROSS! Squatters. Try not to pee on yourself while trying not to pass out from the stench of you name it. No toilet paper. Everything is wet. Everything is dirty. And did I mention the smell?

On our first day we took a ripshaw ride; or so we called it. We decided to take a rickshaw ride around town. The guides told us they would charge us half price 80CYN instead of 160! Great! So we hopped on and they took us to a few 'tourist spots'. All of these places charged a fee to get in to; we paid for the first few, but decided we would be just as happy taking our pictures outside. At one point the guides tried to leave us - this was the point that our 80CYN got us to. We were in the middle of nowhere and had to pay them another 80 to finish our tour. So much for half price... But it was so much fun!

I ran out of money on day 3! How that happened I have no idea, but I ran out! I brought my Korean ATM cards with me, but not one of them worked. When I went to use my American credit card (that I spent hours searching my tiny Korean apt. for), I found out that it was expired! My friends really saved my ass and loaned me money for the rest of the trip, but if you were expecting a cool souvenir from China you're SOL!

When we were on the Great Wall, there were these little Chinese ladies that were following us and "helping you [us], because we friends". All in a ploy to sell us some crappy souvenirs - that we had no desire to buy. When we got to the end and I outright refused to buy anything, I am pretty sure the little Chinese lady put a curse on me!

We ate broccoli at every meal because we do not see much broccoli in Korea. We had a hell of a time trying to order it though because they call it green cauliflower - something we did not find out until the last day of our trip. Surprisingly, Chinese food in China tastes the same as Chinese food in American and in Korea. Except everything has peanuts in it and the KungPow chicken is... WOW! Good stuff!
And, THEY HAVE RED BULL IN CHINA!!!!!!!

My friends and I ate scorpion at the night market. I ate a massive, black guy and got my nickname for the trip "the Scorpion Queen".

And last, but certainly not least - our last night in Beijing. We had a few beers and were walking around a bar/shopping district. Vendors were encouraging one and all to come into their places. On our way back from a public toilet, a very nice man asked us to come into his bar. He lead us to a table and even sat down to talk to us - in English! He waved a few girls over and we ordered a beer. Next thing we know, there are two girls dressed in black sitting at our table, drinking beers with us. When a male customer would come in and all the girls would rush to the door and line up - yep, you guessed it, we were in a whore house! I swear, it was just like the movies. The guy would choose a girl and they would disappear into a room. Everyone else would just go back to what they were doing!
Before I knew what was happening, I was getting felt up by 7 Chinese prostitutes. At that, we paid an ungodly amount for our beers and high-tailed it out of there!

All of these things just made a great trip, even better!

Adventure or Disaster

It's been 5 months of living and working in the ROK and I must admit, it has lost its glitz and glamor. I live here now, so it has just been life as anyone else knows it. I don't spend my weekends at the local tourist attractions anymore. I usually meet up with the girls, go shopping, have coffee, nothing too exciting; ya know, just life. I decided that it was about time that I got back into the swing of things. Korea is bigger than just Seoul, so I decided a weekend trip was the cure for 'just life'. I registered for a trip with a local company that takes weekend trips around Korea.

We were headed to Mt. Taebaek (about 4 hours north of Seoul). The thought of having to be up at 6am on a Saturday morning is not my cup of tea, but it had to be done. I headed to the bus and by 8:30 we had all the passengers and we were off. The schedule was to stop 'mid-day' for lunch and arrive at our first destination around 1:30pm. 1:30 came and went and we had not yet stopped for lunch, nor were we anywhere near our destination! There was a 100km traffic jam and our bus crawled down the highway. Along the way, we did see many sights; mountains, flowers, local crops, and the occasional guy taking a leak on the side of the road.
At 3 we stopped for lunch and at 4:30 we arrived at our destination (8 hours later)!!!! It was quite the long bus ride. And of course no trip would be complete without the few lost souls that join your trip. I know I can be a mean person and I try not to judge people (too harshly), but some of these people....

We got to explore a cave and wore some snazzy helmets - good thing for those helmets, I might have wound up with another scar on my head without it! Somehow I fell behind my friends and ended up walking along with someone who told me all about caves and the formations; lucky me! I know she was just being nice, but I don't care aobut caves and stalgmite formations!!!!
After caving, we went to the hotel and had dinner, then headed to a Korean cinema festival. There was supposed to be English subtitles, but that didn't happen. We were lucky that the movie was easy enough to understand without the subtitles!

The next day was to be jam-packed with that days events and the ones we missed from the day before. So our hike would start at 7am rather than 8! Another early weekend morning wake up call! We were told this hike would be 'not too difficult'. Not too difficult to Koreans does not mean the same thing as not too difficult to Americans, especially me! The hike began and the first 2km were completely uphill. I know this is a mountain, but holy cow!!!!! I quickly fell behind the group, but decided to persevere.
At the 2km mark, there was a temple. I decided to look around for a bit; unfortunately, I should have spent that 30 minutes heading to the top of the mountain. The group was on a tight schedule, and when I was 0.3km from the top, the guides told me I had to turn around and head to the bottom! 0.3km!!!!! I cant believe i didn't make it to the top! It put a damper on the rest of the trip (for me anyway). I was pretty proud of myself and the 7.6km I did hike, but I didn't get to the top! And what's worse is, I saw the picutes some people took at the top and they were so beautiful! Stupid temple!

Next on the schedule was to makeup the events from the day before. We were supposed to go to windmill hill and to the sunflower festival. We headed to windmill hill and were instructed to pile into cars to take us to the windmills. There were about 12 of us that piled into the back of a pickup truck and held on for dear life as we drove through the clouds to get to the windmills. The truck stalled out 3 times on the way to the top (on a one-way road). About 3/4th of the way to the top, they told us we had to get out and walk until the traffic cleared up. We had to walk through the spillway (between the rows and rows of cabbage and the road)! When we finally made it to the top, it was so cloudy that we could not see anything!!! It was kinda fun walking through the clouds though.

When we got to the bus, our tour guide told us that we were going to skip the sunflowers; they weren't really blooming and we needed to head back to Seoul. It only took us 5 hours to get back to Seoul - longer than the 3.5 it was supposed to take, but a lot better than the 8 it took us to get there!

It was nice to get out of the city, but what an interesting trip...
Pictures to come soon.

Dear Korean TV,

(a letter inspired by Cousin)

I must admit, I LOVE my English channel! I appreciate all the American shows and movies that are aired with Korean subtitles.

However, I think of this as MY English channel and when you play the same episode of things 3 and 4 times a week I feel let down. Lets face it, I can only watch the same episode of Criminal Minds, Project Runway, HOUSE or CSI so many times - I try to pretend that I have forgotten the ending so I can act surprised and justify watching the same episode again! Then, you start to air some episodes of certain shows and then they disappear! What's up with that??? The second I think I know when certain shows are on, the schedule changes. And when you decided to change to a different channel completely... I thought that I had lost you forever!!! Thank goodness for insomnia and late night channel surfing!

Also, I do not appreciate the French movies that you play. Hello, the subtitles are still in Korean and I don't speak either of those languages!
And when you play Korean movies, do you really think the Korean subtitles are necessary?

One more thing... I am not sure why you feel the need to put porn on first thing in the morning. Don't get me wrong, a little porn never hurt anybody, but it seems like one of those things that should be on at 2 or 3 in the morning, not 7am while I am getting ready for work!!! And while we are on this topic, why do you blurr out things on shows like CSI and HOUSE but give me a full frontal on the morning porn????

Nevertheless, I appreciate all the background noise and entertainment you provide - especially when its 2am and I still can't fall asleep! I will see you again soon!

Amanda

one of those days

Mondays always start off slow. Hit the snooze a few too many times, get a late start, and roll into work just on time; this could not happen today. Too much to do and I have classes with my head coteacher on Mondays. This Monday was looking bright; it was the last Monday of the semester. Yeah, summer camp starts next week but that's totally different than regular classes.
I busted out my new shoes - that I paid too much for, but with my giant foot (260mm) I can't find any shoes (or clothes or bras or...) that fit - walked to the elevator and my foot is already bleeding! Not sure what happened, but it wasn't the best way to start the day. I rushed back to my apt - good thing too, because my flip flop was lodged in the door, keeping it propped open - and put on my shoes with a hole in the bottom. That made for a lovely walk to school...

When I got to school (now with two bleeding feet) my coteacher asked me why I looked so bad today?!?!?!?!? I just smiled and went to my room to get ready for class. The class went really well (and by well, I mean I just stood around and did nothing) and I even had time to check my email. To my dismay, my inbox was empty!!! So from Friday afternoon to Monday morning, nobody emailed me! I was very sad.

Time for class again, but this time class was not so good. The boys classes are always a challenge, but today they were exceptionally bad. The boys would not listen, tried to steal some stuff, and then my coteacher told me that I need to get a better handle on them. That's the last time I try to do anything nice with the boys classes!

At lunch I was told that I was a disgrace to my family because my younger sister is getting married before me. Then I was reminded that I am 27 and single - oh the horror!!! On my way back from lunch I stopped in the bathroom to wash my hands and looked up to see a pretty horrid reflection. I looked like I hadn't slept in days! What could make this any better than running into the principal on my way back to my office. He proceeded to ask me if I drank too much last night! Great, just great...

But Mondays aren't all bad. We only have 6 classes instead of 7 so I thought I was going to get to leave on time (quite possibly early), but I was wrong again! Instead of either of those things happening, I left two hours late!

After a lot of convincing, I decided to go to yoga (instead of an all-night bender). But in all the drama of the day, I forgot to drink enough water. I had to walk out of class 15 minutes early! The teacher kept calling my name, but I didn't know how to say to him, "if I don't get out of here right now, I am gonna throw up all over your yoga studio!"

Like I said, it was just one of those days!

Just for you Cousin

When I talked to my dear cousin earlier this week, she really got on me about not updating my blog. I tried to explain to her that (to me) Korea is not that interesting or exciting.... Well, not so much anymore. I have lived here for a little over 4 months now, and it has set in that I am not on some long, extravagant vacation: I actually live here and all the glitz and glamor has kind of fizzled out! I still try to make it out on the weekends for some adventures, but am also pretty content to just stay home and chill out.

So I thought I would share some of my disastrous adventures...
Having a real job, with real work hours, and real responsibilities (well, kind of) is a reality shock - compared to slinging spaghetti at the Riz. Getting up early and working with kids does not go well with all night benders, so I do not go out drinking (much) anymore. Every time I have, it has not ended well.
Not being able to talk to taxi drivers and tell them where exactly they need to take you is not the best scenario when you have been drinking soju (Korean rice liquor, similar to vodka) all night with a bunch of strangers. I could see my apartment building, but couldn't figure out how to get to it; I wandered around (at 2am) trying to get there.
Going to Itaewon - where all the foreigners hang out - always ends in disaster! Just a bunch of foreigners trying to hook up with whoever and whatever they can... I always try and make it a point to leave before it gets dark. Enough said.
I am always try to plan my evenings around the subway - for some reason, the subway closes earlier on the weekend than on the weekdays. No one, not even the Koreans, seem to know exactly when the subway closes. The bars stay open all night, the problem is trying to find your way home. Taking a taxi is the best bet, but I have been told 'NO' many times. Because my destination is not a big enough fare, they refuse to take me. Unreal!

And now, for my latest adventures...
I tried to go on a Han River ferry/cruise - the Han River runs through the middle of Seoul - but I missed the last boat by 8 minutes! My friend Amanda and I decided to walk around and take some pictures. We thought it would be really cool if we went up on to one of the bridges and took a few pics. We ended up walking across the whole bridge and when we got to the other side, we got lost. It may not sound very exciting, but we had a blast! I mean, how many people in Seoul have walked across the Han River??

I also went to my first Korean baseball game! It was shockingly similar to an American baseball game. The fans are all super-pumped and cheering the whole game. Everyone had the balloons you bang together and there was a 'spirit captain' jumping all over the place instructing us what to do with them! People had sparklers and fireworks galore! The biggest difference, beer and snacks are really cheap - you aren't charged much more than you would be at a regular convince store (around 3,000 won = $2). We had a hard time trying to figure out which team to root for - we had Bear hats, but Lion balloons! Your ticket is not for a particular seat, but rather for a section. You just have to find a seat in your designated section. Strange to go to the bathroom and come back to find someone sitting in what you thought to be your seat...

Well Cousin, I hope you're happy; guess that's about it for now.... Thanks for reading!

In Korea...

Here are some 'strange' things I have noticed so far...

• I check my email so many times a day its kinda sickening
• I found out who my true friends are
• There is no daylight savings time
• The attitude about N Korea is "yeah, whatever"
• Women wear heels all the time
• You have to take your shoes off at the door - before entering homes and restaurants
• I can't wear anything sleeveless, but wearing a skirt with your butt hanging out is OK
• Nothing is too short
• Everyone has a cell phone
• Track suits are totally in (especially if you wear heels with them)
• So are high-tops
• Guys carry their girlfriends purses
• Guys carry their own purses
• Clashing colors, prints, and styles totally match
• Cars drive and park on the sidewalk
• Red lights mean nothing
• Taxi drivers tell you no if your destination is not a big enough fare
• You have to go to the pharmacy to get any form of medication (including aspirin)
• Everyone is photo-crazy; I think the Koreans take more pictures than I do
• Couples wear matching t-shirts, shoes, jackets, underwear, etc.
• It's OK for people to run into you and just keep going
• Normal pizza toppings include corn, potatoes, sweet potatoes, and of course kimchi
• Red pepper is the main ingredient in almost everything
• Side dishes are a little strange (relish and onions with pizza, pickles with pasta)
• When you go out to eat, side-dishes are unlimited refills
• The reason behind everything is because "it's good for your health"
• Even though they hate English, every t-shirt, baseball cap, bag, etc. is written in English
• Often times, these things are spelled wrong or are completely inappropriate
• Old people and kids stare at me all the time - I swear, even dogs stare at me
• Every Korean seems to have an umbrella when it rains
• Anytime is coffee time; and the coffee shops are always packed
• Seoul never sleeps, but the subway does
• The subway closes earlier on the weekend, than on weekdays
• People talk to me in Korean like I understand them and just keep going
• Korean men do not age well
• Korean girls date the ugliest foreign guys

That's all I can think of for now, but I am sure there are tons more!

Seodaemun Prison

South Korea is a country that has not been independent very long. Many things here are influenced by Japan or China. But I have gotten the general feeling, that Japan is not a favorite among Koreans. There is even an island (Dokdo, I think) that the two countries both claim it is their own.

There are some things I try not to ask too many questions about - touchy subjects - Japan is one of those things. When visiting palaces, I always read about how a lot of history was destroyed during Japanese invasions. Although I am sure this stirs up some bad feelings, the invasions were so long ago (or so I thought) that it didn't make sense to me. The other day, I visited a place that might explain some of the cold feelings Korea has toward Japan that happened a little more recently: Seodaemun Prison.

I had no idea that a place like this and the things that happened there, even existed. I realize that in some point in time, all races, religions, cultures, etc. have been persecuted but I was shocked that I knew nothing about this prison or what went on there.

From what I gather, Korea was under Japans rule from 1910-1945. Those who opposed (the Korean independence fighters) the colonial rule and cultural genocide - banning of the Korean language and adopting Japanese names - were imprisoned here. Over the years more than 400,000 people were held here and upwards of 400 died or were killed.

The first stop was the museum. Inside I saw various journals, photographs, torture devices, solitary cells, and life-sized wax figures sculpted in misery. You could hear screams echoing through the halls, Japanese soldiers shouting, and the crack of a whip. Although this was only a recording, it was very disturbing and sent chills down my spine.

As I made my way around the grounds of the prison, I was amazed at its beauty. The grass was so green, there were ponds everywhere, and the view of the mountains was incredible. The outside of the buildings almost resembled Western, brick school houses. It was hard to imagine how such a beautiful place was used for such terrible purposes.

I was able to walk though many cell blocks, work houses, torture chambers, interrogation rooms, and even the execution house. It was not until I came to the corpse tunnel (a tunnel used to sneak out the dead bodies to a local cemetery) that I decided to end my tour.

Although this was a sad place to visit, I encourage anyone living in Seoul, to visit this place. It truly is magnificent!