People Watching and too much time in Myeongdong!

Yesterday afternoon I went with one of my classmates, Jacyln to see the movie "House Maid" aka "하녀" a remake of a 1960s film.  Korea was kind of into these weird erotic films  back then, and this is a remake of one of them.  It was def. weird. We missed the first 10 min... but I don't think that would have helped any. The film was in the Cannes Film Fest. and thus, was being shown with English subtitles in Myeongdong. It was a good film but so weird.
 My friend and I were the only ones laughing in the audience, although there were only about 6 or 7 people in the audience, including ourselves.  I don't know why people didn't think certain scenes weren't funny!?  They were awkwardly hilarious. Perhaps we're just super immature, but really, I don't think so.

Anyhow after that,  I took the bus to Incheon, met up with Yunjeong unni and Eunji unni from camp, and went to the airport to pick up Mary and Becca!!!  Woot woot!
Then we went back to Myeongdong, met up with another camp unni and Kyungmoon, and ate shabushabu for dinner!

Afterwards, we went for patbingsoo, and then I went back to Mary and Becca's hotel and ended up spending the night because I missed the subway home... but it was fun! Their hotel is pretty nice and has all these cool lights.

Mary and me

Becca and MoonCat

Today, Mary, Becca, and I wandered around, can you guess? Myeongdong, until Mary had to go for cooking lessons (SupHo sent her here to study Korean cooking, since she is working in the kitchen this year).  I left for tutoring but found out it was cancelled, so I headed back to Myeongdong for the 4th time in 24 hours and met back up with Becca.  whew.  Since the weather was pretty dreary and cold we went to see the movie, "Dragon Trainer" the only one going on at the time we were there.  I thought it was going to be pretty dumb but was pleasantly surprised!

Tonight I went to Tte for their weekly meeting.  Mugong had an English assignment to pick a "high-tech product" and spend an hour watching and recording how people utilize it.  I  got really excited because I love people watching and miss taking fieldnotes for my various anthro classes, so I voluntarily enlisted myself as her helper.  I gave her tips on how to take fieldnotes and we spent an hour in the subway station observing people who use the new Digital View machines.

There is a picture of Nik using one in my previous entry, but they're basically a huge touch screen computer for public use.  I guess they're in the trial stage right now or something.  There is also a phone, which currently gives you 5 minutes of free talk time to see if people would actually use its services.  On the touch screen you can read the news, check the weather, look at the roadmap, which is basically google earth, look up new movies/synopses, check local dining, etc.  Very awesome, if you ask me.

I'll write about Soraksan later.  Goodnight!

Buddha's Birthday = VACATION!!! to SoRakSan

*I just found this and realized I never finished it, so I shall now.

I went to SorakSan with my host family over the holiday weekend, Buddha's birthday~

We actually ended up leaving at night to beat the traffic.  They had been planning to leave very early the next morning, so I went out to meet Mark in Sinchon for dinner, and towards the end of our meal, I got a phone call from my host mom informing me that we were actually leaving that night. So, I went home, packed up some clothes and necessities and we left~

I think the drive was about 4-5 hrs, but I fell asleep for most of it, so I couldn't really say...  I was kind of assuming that it was going to be kind of like camping or going to camp.  Boy was I wrong.  My host mom's parents own an apt. right near Soraksan, so basically we got to stay in a really nice, new, sweet apartment!  wow.  It had an amazing view too! Out one side was the city and ocean and on the other was the mountain!

 day view out towards the mountains

 night view from the other side. The area where it just turns black and there are no more lights is the ocean. 

We left Thursday night and left to go back to Seoul Sunday morning.  On Friday we went hiking on the mountain.  The mountain is huge, its more like a small mountain range.  So, we picked 2 pretty easy trails to hike.  The weather was perfect! and the scenery was beautiful.  It was so nice to see lush green foliage! I really hadn't seen anything of the sort since I left Minnesota, actually before that, since when I left everything was covered in snow.

 entrance to the National Park

 John and Nicole getting water

 Nicole and I on the trails

The second trail we hiked took us to a really nice stream that ran down the mountain.  The water was extremely clear and the really cool part was that the rocks all around it had Chinese characters carved into them!  I asked my host dad and he just said they used to do that way back when. I'm not sure how long ago that means, but I'm thinking pretty long ago.  A lot of them looked really worn away. But they looked really neat!

 view of a section of the mountain

 carvings on the rock

a close-up 

looking at the map

bunch of visor wearing ajumas coming!!! Ah, run and take cover!!

priceless video of John blowing his pinwheel with his nose! haha... he found the thing on the ground on our first day and wouldn't let it out of his sight for most of the trip~

Later that day, we went to the 대포항 fish market, which was awesome!  We wandered around looking at the variety of fish and sea animals for sale (presumably, to be eaten) and other street food.  I saw the craziest looking fish there! It was HUGE and had these gigantic sharp teeth. It looked terrifying!!! I can't imagine eating it...

 the fish market

 scariest, craziest looking fish ever! look at its teeth!!!

 gigantic crabs

We also saw an American TV crew there filming for something. I really wanted to know, so I went up and asked one of the camera people.  His response really bugged me and was very unsatisfactory.  I asked him what they were filming for and he said, "something for American TV."  (Obviously.)  It was obviously a canned response that he told everyone, and I felt like he didn't realize I was American.  So, I tried again.  I asked him what station it was for and he told me PBS.  He wasn't particularly friendly or talkative, so I gave up and wandered on.  A bit later, I came across another few people from their filming/production crew and decided to try again. I asked one of the women who seemed to be in charge.  She said, "For an American television program."  (Again, obviously!)  I pried for some more info, just because I was curious and it was bugging me that they were assuming I was Korean and didn't realize I was American.  I got that it was for PBS, a new series, didn't have a name yet, and was focusing on Korea.  I'm not sure if this means, just this particular episode focuses on Korea or if the entire series focuses on Korea.  It was a bit more satisfactory than my first attempt.  However, I thought it was really strange that both people assumed I was Korean (after I told the second lady that I was American, she seemed more willing to tell me details) because I was obviously speaking fluent English with a very American, actually Minnesotan accent.

American film crew

Anyhow, that was a huge tangent. After the fish market, we went to the beach and my host brother and sister went wild! They were so excited!!!  There were speed boats giving people rides - it looked extremely unsafe and would def. not happen in the US.  They were speeding around the shallow area where swimmers were and taking all these crazy turns to get the passengers all wet.  They just seemed way to close to shore... I really wanted to touch the water; just dip my fingers in it to say that I had touched the East Sea, but right when I leaned over to touch it, a big wave came crashing in and got my shoes all wet... Arg. I guess that's what I get. Now I can definitely say, with conviction, that I have touched the East Sea.

 darn... that kinda sucked

 sunset from the beach

On Saturday, we went to a different beach.  The beach is right in front of this very fancy resort that my host family stayed at one time.  It was really nice and my host brother dug a big pit to push his sister into.  (Later, when I was tutoring him in English writing, it was this event that he chose to write about ^^)  There was also this big rock out in the water, but there was a sandbar so you could walk out and climb it.  I wish I had a picture, but my host dad took it on his camera and I forgot to get it from him...

 John's infamous pit of doom

Anyhow, after the beach we drove up to another point on the mountain and had lunch there.  The trail there was pretty steep, so my host mom and sister hung around while my host dad, host brother, and I climbed it. I went pretty far, but then decided to turn around, as it just kept getting steeper and steeper.  At one point I had to use a rope that was lying there (for that purpose) to pull myself up on a gravel path.  It was really pretty though! My host brother has so much energy and had ran ahead - he and his dad made it all the way to the top!

 John, CK, Nicole, and me

After that, we made a stop at Osaek, this famous mineral spring.  My host mom said that its supposed to have healing powers and be really good for your health.  (My host mom collected a bottle full and I tasted it and man was it disgusting! It just tasted dirty to me... My host sister vehemently spat her mouthful out and look to her mom like she was crazy to have given her that water.  My host brother made the most hilarious face!)
So we went and my host brother had a great time skipping rocks and running around in the water.  There was a famous waterfalls down about 2 or 3 km away.  We were going to go there, but it was getting late and my host mom as tired.  However, John (host bro) really wanted to go, so they compromised and we were to go part way and then turn around.  John dashed off and CK (host dad), Nicole (host sis) and I followed.
It was really pretty and we walked quite a ways.  But then John disappeared.  CK went ahead to find him and Nicole and I turned around and went back to the car, where Young (host mom) was waiting.  She got really worried when she found out that we couldn't find John and that he had run ahead.  She tried to call, but there was no phone service out there.  We waited a good 20-30 minutes until we saw CK and John walking towards the car.  Whew.

 the entrance to the spring

 people gathered around collecting and drinking water

On the way back to the apartment, CK and Yong went to get dinner and dropped me and the kids off at a nearby beach.  They had fun pretending to dig for buried treasure and swinging.  The next morning we got up and left by 7.  We got stuck in major traffic getting back to Seoul~ I think we were maybe 15-30 min. from their house and it took us over an hour... But we made it back!

It was a really great trip!!!!

THE END

First week of Summer!

Hey!

So, its my official first week of summer. I've been staying up til 3 in the morning and sleeping in. Not a good habit... I need to make a more concerted effort to go to bed earlier, but I function so much better at night...

 Nik playing with a touch screen Seoul Metro map

Anyhow, this past weekend Emily and Nik came to Seoul. On Saturday I made plans to go to the Lantern Festival (in honor of Buddha's birthday) with Youngwha unni and Nik.  Nik stayed at my host family's house the night before (they are so nice and let my friends crash at their house when they're in seoul!) so we headed to Insadong to meet Youngwha unni at 1.  Interestingly, Youngwha unni had never really been to Insadong, only in passing.  It's a huge hot spot for tourists, as it sells all the "traditional crafts" etc.

 temple enterance

Youngwha unni and me

We wandered around a bit and then went to Jogyesa Temple and looked at all the lanterns hanging. They had made them in the shape of the center red/blue circle of the Korean flag! cool!  I think most of the festivities were actually the next day, and the actual holiday, Buddha's Birthday is this coming Friday.  We stuck around all day and saw the parade at 7:00.

During that time, Youngwha unni asked me why I don't wear much make up. Most Korean girls are very consumed with their outward appearance and everyone wears makeup.  Even the guys (they sell BB cream for men).  I told her I didn't really have too much makeup and she got super excited and took me makeup shopping.  I am basically now set.  She put all the tester stuff on me in the store, which made me freakout a bit, internally, as I'm a huge germ-a-phob...  I don't think I really like mascara, as it made my eyes feel like they were kind of stuck together.  But, she sure had fun picking stuff out for me~ Part way through, I realized she intended to buy this for me and told her it was too much, but she said it was necessary and she was obviously enjoying herself.  it was really really really nice of her! 
I was wearing my glasses that day, and afterwards, in the height of the excitement, she told me not to put them back on. lol! I told her I couldn't really see without them... We met back up with Nik and also Emily later, as Nik had split ways earlier in the day to attend a forum.  When we met up, Emily told me she whispered to Nik, "Is Lia wearing makeup?!..."  lol! 

Emily and Nik spent the night at my hostfamilies house.  Unfortunately, it didn't occur to me to buy makeup remover, so I had a heck of a time getting it all off! I looked like a raccoon, but luckily with Emily's help, it all came off. Whew.

At a game board cafe

On Sunday Nik and Em headed back home.  I dropped Emily off at Gangbyeon, where she was to catch her bus.  We had a bit of extra time, so we got ice cream. It's tradition; we always eat ice cream together.^^

Then, I met up with Sarang and her cousin Jiyeon, who were at TechnoMart, right across the street from the bus terminal.  Sarang cut her hair! She wasn't so sure about it, but I thought it looked nice and makes her look older.  We went to dinner with one of Sarang's friends and then I went to Sarang's church.  We tried to sit near where the Korean Sign Language interpreter sat, but we got there too late... It was a special Family Day that night, so there was lots of sings and skits etc.  Towards the end, I thought to myself, wow, her church is really fun, but somethings feels like its missing. Then not even two minutes later, the pastor apologized because that night there were so many things going on, he was going to skip his sermon.  Ah... I realized that's what was missing. The sermon. haha.

I spent the night at Sarang's house. The next morning Sarang had work at 10am at the English school she is working at.  I hung around  her house a bit and ate breakfast and talked with her dad.  My Korean has definitely improved, but I still was lost much of the time during out conversation.  Actually, Koreans seem really good at talking, so her dad talked to me for like an hour. We jumped from graduate school to the founders of Samsung and Hyundai, to ship building.  I most definitely missed the transitions... I'm positive there were some because at the end, he somehow managed to tie everything back together.  We also talked about what type of guy I like. I told him I like people who are smart, fun, and have a good heart. He laughed and told me if the person is smart and fun, he wont have a good heart and if he is good and fun he wont be smart.  haha!

Afterward, I went to Sarang's work place and met her students and her for lunch. Her students are both in their 30s and are doing a program called "Prision Break," and they are there from 10am-9pm Monday-Thursday!!! After lunch, we played the game Up Words, which is essentially Scrabble, but with the added component that you can build words up.

That evening I went to Myeongdong with one of people from Tte.  He is actually a student at the Korean Lang. Institute from New Zealand because hi has to get ready for his mandatory 2 year military service.  Yikes! It was fun, but towards the end, it started to rain and neither of us had an umbrella.  The rain continued all the way home. I called Nik and was standing at the bottom of the stairs at Sinimun station, which is right next to the subway maintenance area.  I figured I'd finish my phone call before I ventured out into the rain, which presumable is acid rain or at least yellow dust rain.... After about 10-15 minutes, one of the subway station workers walked over and poked an umbrella through the fence to me!!!  How sweet!!! His act of kindness made my day!

Tuesday I tutored one of my tutees for an hour.  Then I went to Dongdaemun and met Youngwha unni and her husband for dinner (they're the couple that I sat next to on the airplane^_^).  I got into her car and she handed me a dress!  All I need now is a large hair bow (I think that's next on her list Oo) and with my makeup and new dress, I will be the quintessential female Korean archetype.  Afterward, Kyungmoon and I met up at Myeondong (yes, again) because she wanted to get a pair of shoes and we needed to find a baby gift for one of the camp unnis, as we went to visit her today!

It was raining and all of the surrounding department stores closed at 8, so we ended up going to Lotte Mart, which is kind of like an extreme Target ,and got her baby clothes and stacking cups.  So obviously our first time shopping for a baby gift. I brought the stuff home and showed my host mom and turns out we bought 3-4 year old sized clothes... ugh. we thought it was months not years! 
He'll grow into it eventually.

Wednesday Kyungmoon and I got to meet Hyeonjeong's baby!!!  We were supposed to go at 9:40 but at 9:00 I woke up from a phone call from Jeonghye unni, who was going to be taking us.  She started talking about a time change, which was basically a stream of conscious in Korean; way too much Korean first thing in the morning. I croaked, "sorry, what?" But things got sorted out and we went late morning.

I didn't know it was my host brother, John's birthday yesterday until roughly 4:30 in the afternoon! I got home to get ready for tutoring and my host sister was making a birthday card. yikes! I had been planning on going to drumming lessons, which I've missed about 3 weeks in a row due to finals and Tte practices, but ended up going out to dinner, which was fun! I got him a new lego set and a watch, which he seemed to like. I used his name and made one of those skeleton words by writing his name in cursive on a piece of folded paper and cutting it out and unfolding it his birthday card.  I think it turned out pretty cool~

We went to dinner and after wards they got an ice cream cake from Coldstone. Yum!  When we got back, I told John that if he put some of the dry ice (which came in the cooler to keep the cake frozen) in water, it would carbonate the water and turn it into sparkling water.  He took it to an extreme and dumped all of in... but it looked really cool!

Coldstone cake

we started with a cup

and ended with a bowl

Anyhow, today I'm going to lunch with one of the tte members, the sogo leader, Haegeum. She needs to borrow some of my Korean language materials for one of her classes, so I'm going to drop those off with her.  Til later!