Russian Man sees potential, Toilet papering World Cup Stadium
My apologies for the delayed update. At first, it was because there wasn’t enough going on to warrant a post. Then it became the inverse, and I’m having to write this in small chunks so that it’ll all get written eventually!
Two weekends ago, I was on my way to meet Amy for one of our “Seoul’s Best 100” exploring adventures. There was a white man sitting on the subway car about two seats down from me. He waved and I nodded. Then he started to talk to me in a language I didn’t understand, but figured out was Russian. He knew an absolute maximum of three words of English, but seemed pretty knowledgeable with his Korean, so we discovered our native countries. Deciding the effort wasn’t really worth the time, I stuck my nose in my book and made it clear that this conversation was finished. Not rude, but why waste our time? So we get off at the same subway stop and he asks if this is my stop. No, I’m just getting off here to wait for another train in the same direction. Duh! (Of course, in my charming Southern way, I kindly told him it was as opposed to what I was really thinking). So the strange Russian man proceeded to walk around with a short-skirted Korean girl and I decided I’d kill some time in the underground mall while I waited to meet Amy. A good 20 minutes passed, and as I exited the underground, who was there waiting, but this freak! He looked at me and apparently decided it was an invitation to talk to me some more. He asked where I was going, and I said to meet a friend. In Russia, this translates into a summons for an outsider’s presence, apparently. He pulled out a wad—and when I say wad, think inappropriately large sum of money to be carrying in your pocket if you’re doing legal things (though in Korea, using cards for purchases is far less common than it is at home—you typically carry a few hundred bucks around for groceries and any and everything else you may buy)—of ten thousand won (~$10) bills. In my very broken Korean and his three words of English, he told me that he didn’t have a house and kept asking me something I didn’t understand. I was getting annoyed, and I finally just blurted out, “I’m NOT a prostitute!!” I mean, jeans and a sweater, and I don’t have blonde hair like the ones in his country, or red lips. What is the DEAL! He said, “No no no” so whatever that means. I told him to hurry up because I was going to meet my friend. He asked to join and I said no. He pulled out more money and I just walked off, as I should’ve done when I first saw him still standing at the same subway exit. Weird.
So the lack of knowledge about foreign places is, not surprisingly, a common theme both for me, and for those who know little outside the borders of this highly condensed and homogenous country. One of my students mentioned how he wants to go to Canada. I told him that Canada or the US would be great places for him to visit. He said he wouldn’t go to the US because “it’s dangerous.” I asked what he was talking about and he started talking about how all teenagers carry guns and people get murdered. I told him that not everyone carries a gun and it’s not like the movies he sees. This second grader seemed pretty unconvinced. I guess I shouldn’t be surprised at his ignorance because the America he sees is the one in the movies, and the songs he hears are uncensored. Though he’s one of my brightest students who wants to be Secretary General of the UN one day, he’s afraid to go to my home country because he fears for his life. Oh boy.
I love soccer. Whenever I get those survey emails that ask what your favorite sport to watch is, I always surprise people when I say soccer. (I’d be remiss not to miss LSU football, but that’s more about the tailgating than the passing yards to me.) So I was pretty excited when I found out that Korea has a pretty decent soccer team and my friend Gus was able to get tickets to one of the season’s most anticipated matches thus far! Apparently, tickets to Korea vs. Angola sold out in less than 1 hour! The team had been gone for several months for games around the world and hadn’t played at Seoul’s World Cup Stadium in a while, and this was their first game since their return home. It began with a subway ride and crowd that made you think Madonna was in town! People were EVERYWHERE. I had the misconception that if I got there early, I’d be able to find a seat somewhere and study while I waited to meet Gus. Not a snowball’s chance in hell! And speaking of snowballs, it was FREEZING! Literally. I get cold easily and therefore wear as many layers as possible, but by the end of the game there was snow coming through the open roof. Gus invested in some soju (the popular Korean drink that tastes like rubbing alcohol smells) so was plenty warm enough to offer his jacket. Anyway, it was quite exciting. Many of their cheers were in English, even what the really enthusiastic fans shouted at the players. “Nice shot!” and so on. After half time, about half of the stadium threw rolls of toilet paper all at once, so it looked like a fountain of white just coming over the edges of the seats. How fun! Gives a new meaning to the term of “rolling.” The whole event was quite an experience—one I’d recommend for visitors to the ROK!
Last weekend entailed a BBQ on the Army post with people who speak English. (It’s really the little things that excite me!) I made some yummy brownies (whose title in the recipe is actually called, “Crack Brownies: No illegal substances involved”) that were appropriately named for their addiction. I got compliments on them even a week later from people who didn’t know my name! I have baked maybe twice since I’ve been in Korea (part of not having an oven—go figure!) so it’s cool to know that I’ve got some of what it takes to satisfy a sweet tooth! Speaking of Army excitement, I’ll be heading down to Daegu this weekend to meet Sam, and we’ll head to Busan, a city on the coast where he is stationed through May, and move him in to a new place with a roommate on post. I’m studying to take a certification test in May, though, so at some point I’m really going to have to study a lot!! I don’t know how well that will mix with exploring the sights and seafood restaurants of a new city.
Copyright 2005 Olivia R. Reed
Two weekends ago, I was on my way to meet Amy for one of our “Seoul’s Best 100” exploring adventures. There was a white man sitting on the subway car about two seats down from me. He waved and I nodded. Then he started to talk to me in a language I didn’t understand, but figured out was Russian. He knew an absolute maximum of three words of English, but seemed pretty knowledgeable with his Korean, so we discovered our native countries. Deciding the effort wasn’t really worth the time, I stuck my nose in my book and made it clear that this conversation was finished. Not rude, but why waste our time? So we get off at the same subway stop and he asks if this is my stop. No, I’m just getting off here to wait for another train in the same direction. Duh! (Of course, in my charming Southern way, I kindly told him it was as opposed to what I was really thinking). So the strange Russian man proceeded to walk around with a short-skirted Korean girl and I decided I’d kill some time in the underground mall while I waited to meet Amy. A good 20 minutes passed, and as I exited the underground, who was there waiting, but this freak! He looked at me and apparently decided it was an invitation to talk to me some more. He asked where I was going, and I said to meet a friend. In Russia, this translates into a summons for an outsider’s presence, apparently. He pulled out a wad—and when I say wad, think inappropriately large sum of money to be carrying in your pocket if you’re doing legal things (though in Korea, using cards for purchases is far less common than it is at home—you typically carry a few hundred bucks around for groceries and any and everything else you may buy)—of ten thousand won (~$10) bills. In my very broken Korean and his three words of English, he told me that he didn’t have a house and kept asking me something I didn’t understand. I was getting annoyed, and I finally just blurted out, “I’m NOT a prostitute!!” I mean, jeans and a sweater, and I don’t have blonde hair like the ones in his country, or red lips. What is the DEAL! He said, “No no no” so whatever that means. I told him to hurry up because I was going to meet my friend. He asked to join and I said no. He pulled out more money and I just walked off, as I should’ve done when I first saw him still standing at the same subway exit. Weird.
So the lack of knowledge about foreign places is, not surprisingly, a common theme both for me, and for those who know little outside the borders of this highly condensed and homogenous country. One of my students mentioned how he wants to go to Canada. I told him that Canada or the US would be great places for him to visit. He said he wouldn’t go to the US because “it’s dangerous.” I asked what he was talking about and he started talking about how all teenagers carry guns and people get murdered. I told him that not everyone carries a gun and it’s not like the movies he sees. This second grader seemed pretty unconvinced. I guess I shouldn’t be surprised at his ignorance because the America he sees is the one in the movies, and the songs he hears are uncensored. Though he’s one of my brightest students who wants to be Secretary General of the UN one day, he’s afraid to go to my home country because he fears for his life. Oh boy.
I love soccer. Whenever I get those survey emails that ask what your favorite sport to watch is, I always surprise people when I say soccer. (I’d be remiss not to miss LSU football, but that’s more about the tailgating than the passing yards to me.) So I was pretty excited when I found out that Korea has a pretty decent soccer team and my friend Gus was able to get tickets to one of the season’s most anticipated matches thus far! Apparently, tickets to Korea vs. Angola sold out in less than 1 hour! The team had been gone for several months for games around the world and hadn’t played at Seoul’s World Cup Stadium in a while, and this was their first game since their return home. It began with a subway ride and crowd that made you think Madonna was in town! People were EVERYWHERE. I had the misconception that if I got there early, I’d be able to find a seat somewhere and study while I waited to meet Gus. Not a snowball’s chance in hell! And speaking of snowballs, it was FREEZING! Literally. I get cold easily and therefore wear as many layers as possible, but by the end of the game there was snow coming through the open roof. Gus invested in some soju (the popular Korean drink that tastes like rubbing alcohol smells) so was plenty warm enough to offer his jacket. Anyway, it was quite exciting. Many of their cheers were in English, even what the really enthusiastic fans shouted at the players. “Nice shot!” and so on. After half time, about half of the stadium threw rolls of toilet paper all at once, so it looked like a fountain of white just coming over the edges of the seats. How fun! Gives a new meaning to the term of “rolling.” The whole event was quite an experience—one I’d recommend for visitors to the ROK!
Last weekend entailed a BBQ on the Army post with people who speak English. (It’s really the little things that excite me!) I made some yummy brownies (whose title in the recipe is actually called, “Crack Brownies: No illegal substances involved”) that were appropriately named for their addiction. I got compliments on them even a week later from people who didn’t know my name! I have baked maybe twice since I’ve been in Korea (part of not having an oven—go figure!) so it’s cool to know that I’ve got some of what it takes to satisfy a sweet tooth! Speaking of Army excitement, I’ll be heading down to Daegu this weekend to meet Sam, and we’ll head to Busan, a city on the coast where he is stationed through May, and move him in to a new place with a roommate on post. I’m studying to take a certification test in May, though, so at some point I’m really going to have to study a lot!! I don’t know how well that will mix with exploring the sights and seafood restaurants of a new city.
Copyright 2005 Olivia R. Reed
posted by LSULiv | 3:45 PM
3 Comments:
Olivia, your blog is a fun read. You're still living in South Korea? I'm saddened to hear about how ignorant even the bright kids are about this place, but I suppose it's the same the other way around. Good work, at any rate...
The toilet paper avalanch sounded cool, must have been a really neat sight!!
avalanche
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