Butt-breaking Beguilement
So last weekend was the farewell party for two friends I’ve made since being here: Becky and Dave. They’re heading to Canada for a month to celebrate Christmas with her family, and then they’ll move to Atlanta where Dave will finish the masters degree he’s been working on via the Internet, and then off to Australia in July for the two of them so that Becky can further her teaching credentials. We ate at Carne Station, which is in the basement around the corner from a subway stop in the ritzy area of town—you’d never find this kind of place if you were looking for somewhere to eat, but it’s really a deal! All you can eat and drink for $22! There were about 30 people there celebrating Becky’s birthday and saying goodbye to the two of them (if you haven’t received the pictures, let me know) and having a good time. It was really nice! What was even neater was that on the way there, Amy and I went to COEX, this large underground mall right across from where we stayed in Gangnam when we first arrived in Seoul for training. Shopping in malls, American style, is totally different from the random street vendors and shops I’ve become accustomed to. Heading toward the subway station, it began to snow. Fine flakes at first, and they gradually got heavier, thicker, and fluffier. It was really pretty! I took pictures of it all, and by the time we all finished eating dinner, it looked like several inches had fallen on all the cars and sidewalks everywhere. I can’t stand cold weather, though because you can’t control it you get used to it quickly, but snow is much more pleasant than rain—it makes you want to walk outside in it rather than get under an awning with an umbrella. Good times!
The next day, we went to Insa-Dong because Amy had never checked out this artsy area. We walked up and down the streets looking at what all the different shops had to offer. We found some little nook that was a small brick street with little restaurants all the way down. There was even one that had Christmas lights outside on the trees and I just loved it! When we turned around, there was a staircase in the middle of a big courtyard and, naturally, we went in. We climbed ramps to entrances to lamp stores, neat jackets made from traditional Korean materials, jewelry whose owner/creators prohibited pictures of, and on the fourth floor found a restaurant that overlooked the area and had a good view of the large buildings outside. It was about $11/person for some really good food, so we thought that was a deal! We walked around some more and found ourselves inside a coffee shop to warm up and thaw out. Amy is from New York, so you’d think that she could tolerate the frigid temperatures. I have to say with a bit of pride, that I’ve definitely out-prepared her with gloves, hats, sweaters, etc. and I don’t seem to get as miserable as she does as quickly, so I feel like a real trooper!
This weekend we went to buy our tickets for Daegu, had an Italian dinner (as part of our Western food tradition on the weekends), and then headed to Hongdae to meet my AD for drinks. Hongdae is the hot spot for clubbers, especially on the last Friday of each month (where we celebrated my last birthday). It was incredible! After we got off of the train, I was quite impressed with and excited about the display of Christmas lights on the trees all the way down one street. I will truly miss being able to drive around and see homes with all their displays of holiday cheer in bright and colorful electric form, but I really appreciate the effort that these people put out, for just 1/4 of the country being Christian and 1/2 of the country having no denomination. Of course, I haven’t exactly seen a manger scene yet, but I still consider lights to be a recognition of the Christmas spirit, whether or not they acknowledge the birth of baby Jesus. And so, the bar we went to is brand new, was in the basement of another club, and while it played Western music and had big drinks for a reasonable price, you could just sit back and talk to your friends (Debbie, her husband Mike, and her friend whose name I don't recall) and hear them respond without anyone losing their voice. My kind of place!
Sunday I met my friend Gus (the one I went to the palace with a few weeks ago) and Amy at an ice skating rink! Gus is from Baltimore and went to college in Boulder, Colorado. I don’t think I’ve ever ice skated before, and for someone who was pretty timid when we played roller hockey in PE as a middle-schooler, I hung with these cold-weather gurus pretty well. I probably hadn’t put on a pair of skates of any sort in ten years (I feel old when I can say things like that), much less ice skates, and I got knocked down only once. Amy said she was proud of me for just going right out in the middle of the row rather than trying to get comfortable with the feel of it by hanging onto the side rails (even some moms were holding onto the railings!) and Gus would zip around, then wait for me and say jokingly, "Hey! Come here often?" He was definitely more of a natural at this, though we both marveled at the people who looked like professionals. We were waiting for two of them to break out into the triple axle and flip a partner in the air! Little kids have no fear, so they zip in and out of everyone. It’s sorta like NASCAR in frozen form. It got really busy, so the ice was getting all powdery and bumpy and it was high time to break out the zamboni, but they didn’t clean it at all while we were there, thus the number of falls kept increasing. Luckily, none of us broke our tailbones like I expected.
After the skating rink, Amy and I went over to Sincheon to meet Amber and Sean, my Canadian pals who live around the corner from me. They’re members of this Documentary Club type deal, and they get together at a small, cozy restaurant every Sunday to watch a movie. This weekend’s was Wal-Mart: The High Cost of Low Prices. There was an issue with the volume so it was difficult to hear. One section of the restaurant was reserved for this group, so all the patrons were kicked out when show time arrived, with the exception of one couple off to the side enjoying their meal. None of us cared that there were non-members in the area, until they apparently broke up and the girl started sobbing noisily while mumbling to the guy trying to hold her hand. Seriously people, is a restaurant really the place to do this? I know you can’t always control timing, but geez! Fortunately, they left after they ran out of tissues and the rest of us continued listening to Lee Scott, the CEO of Wally World and antagonist of this video, and Chinese employees who are practically slaves to the company, as well as mom and pop businesses who had been run out by the corporate giant. Of course these movies are biased and a bit extreme (my favorite part was a sticker that had been made using the WM font that said: Wal-Mart. Low wages. Low morals. Always!), but informative nonetheless And so was being with this group! After it was over, Mikah, one of the guys with us from Victoria, Canada, took us to this great taco place just a few minutes away! It’s rare to find Mexican food in these parts, and it’s even more rare to find GOOD Mexican food. This little strip of a restaurant had both! It held about 10 people max, but was quite yum, and even had free coke! The guys left to go to their poker night from here, and the rest of us split up to go our separate ways home. Amber and Sean showed me the way via bus from Dongsan to a stop that was right in front of their apartment and about 5 minutes from mine. Talk about efficient! And it beats the 20minute walk to the subway that I would have otherwise taken.
This coming weekend, we are heading down to Daegu (“Taegu” to some, because the letter for “d” is the same one they use for “t” when it’s Romanized) to see Sam. Anywhere outside of Seoul is considered “the country” by the big city snobs here, but the “rural” city of Daegu boasts 3million people. There are some temples and other historically educational sights to explore. It’s funny how the history I’m used to is a maximum of 200 or so years old, whereas the norm for what’s considered ancient here is thousands of years old. It’s really neat! I’m definitely looking forward to this mini-vacation, because we leave on Saturday after I finish with class, and return on Monday morning.
Where are all my commenters? I miss you guys =(
Copyright 2005 Olivia R. Reed
The next day, we went to Insa-Dong because Amy had never checked out this artsy area. We walked up and down the streets looking at what all the different shops had to offer. We found some little nook that was a small brick street with little restaurants all the way down. There was even one that had Christmas lights outside on the trees and I just loved it! When we turned around, there was a staircase in the middle of a big courtyard and, naturally, we went in. We climbed ramps to entrances to lamp stores, neat jackets made from traditional Korean materials, jewelry whose owner/creators prohibited pictures of, and on the fourth floor found a restaurant that overlooked the area and had a good view of the large buildings outside. It was about $11/person for some really good food, so we thought that was a deal! We walked around some more and found ourselves inside a coffee shop to warm up and thaw out. Amy is from New York, so you’d think that she could tolerate the frigid temperatures. I have to say with a bit of pride, that I’ve definitely out-prepared her with gloves, hats, sweaters, etc. and I don’t seem to get as miserable as she does as quickly, so I feel like a real trooper!
This weekend we went to buy our tickets for Daegu, had an Italian dinner (as part of our Western food tradition on the weekends), and then headed to Hongdae to meet my AD for drinks. Hongdae is the hot spot for clubbers, especially on the last Friday of each month (where we celebrated my last birthday). It was incredible! After we got off of the train, I was quite impressed with and excited about the display of Christmas lights on the trees all the way down one street. I will truly miss being able to drive around and see homes with all their displays of holiday cheer in bright and colorful electric form, but I really appreciate the effort that these people put out, for just 1/4 of the country being Christian and 1/2 of the country having no denomination. Of course, I haven’t exactly seen a manger scene yet, but I still consider lights to be a recognition of the Christmas spirit, whether or not they acknowledge the birth of baby Jesus. And so, the bar we went to is brand new, was in the basement of another club, and while it played Western music and had big drinks for a reasonable price, you could just sit back and talk to your friends (Debbie, her husband Mike, and her friend whose name I don't recall) and hear them respond without anyone losing their voice. My kind of place!
Sunday I met my friend Gus (the one I went to the palace with a few weeks ago) and Amy at an ice skating rink! Gus is from Baltimore and went to college in Boulder, Colorado. I don’t think I’ve ever ice skated before, and for someone who was pretty timid when we played roller hockey in PE as a middle-schooler, I hung with these cold-weather gurus pretty well. I probably hadn’t put on a pair of skates of any sort in ten years (I feel old when I can say things like that), much less ice skates, and I got knocked down only once. Amy said she was proud of me for just going right out in the middle of the row rather than trying to get comfortable with the feel of it by hanging onto the side rails (even some moms were holding onto the railings!) and Gus would zip around, then wait for me and say jokingly, "Hey! Come here often?" He was definitely more of a natural at this, though we both marveled at the people who looked like professionals. We were waiting for two of them to break out into the triple axle and flip a partner in the air! Little kids have no fear, so they zip in and out of everyone. It’s sorta like NASCAR in frozen form. It got really busy, so the ice was getting all powdery and bumpy and it was high time to break out the zamboni, but they didn’t clean it at all while we were there, thus the number of falls kept increasing. Luckily, none of us broke our tailbones like I expected.
After the skating rink, Amy and I went over to Sincheon to meet Amber and Sean, my Canadian pals who live around the corner from me. They’re members of this Documentary Club type deal, and they get together at a small, cozy restaurant every Sunday to watch a movie. This weekend’s was Wal-Mart: The High Cost of Low Prices. There was an issue with the volume so it was difficult to hear. One section of the restaurant was reserved for this group, so all the patrons were kicked out when show time arrived, with the exception of one couple off to the side enjoying their meal. None of us cared that there were non-members in the area, until they apparently broke up and the girl started sobbing noisily while mumbling to the guy trying to hold her hand. Seriously people, is a restaurant really the place to do this? I know you can’t always control timing, but geez! Fortunately, they left after they ran out of tissues and the rest of us continued listening to Lee Scott, the CEO of Wally World and antagonist of this video, and Chinese employees who are practically slaves to the company, as well as mom and pop businesses who had been run out by the corporate giant. Of course these movies are biased and a bit extreme (my favorite part was a sticker that had been made using the WM font that said: Wal-Mart. Low wages. Low morals. Always!), but informative nonetheless And so was being with this group! After it was over, Mikah, one of the guys with us from Victoria, Canada, took us to this great taco place just a few minutes away! It’s rare to find Mexican food in these parts, and it’s even more rare to find GOOD Mexican food. This little strip of a restaurant had both! It held about 10 people max, but was quite yum, and even had free coke! The guys left to go to their poker night from here, and the rest of us split up to go our separate ways home. Amber and Sean showed me the way via bus from Dongsan to a stop that was right in front of their apartment and about 5 minutes from mine. Talk about efficient! And it beats the 20minute walk to the subway that I would have otherwise taken.
This coming weekend, we are heading down to Daegu (“Taegu” to some, because the letter for “d” is the same one they use for “t” when it’s Romanized) to see Sam. Anywhere outside of Seoul is considered “the country” by the big city snobs here, but the “rural” city of Daegu boasts 3million people. There are some temples and other historically educational sights to explore. It’s funny how the history I’m used to is a maximum of 200 or so years old, whereas the norm for what’s considered ancient here is thousands of years old. It’s really neat! I’m definitely looking forward to this mini-vacation, because we leave on Saturday after I finish with class, and return on Monday morning.
Where are all my commenters? I miss you guys =(
Copyright 2005 Olivia R. Reed
posted by LSULiv | 8:24 PM
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