Fame and unfortunate

 

The first foreigner I met in my part of town was a Moroccan guy, Ismail.  I’ve come to know him pretty well.  He has an intriguingly refreshing story for coming to Korea.  Every foreigner usually have the same story – my story.  It approaches annoying wheneveryone knows your story before even shaking your hand.  Anyways, one endeavour that he was dabbling in was acting.  It happens that he fit the profile for a role in a Korean movie script.  He had told me all about the film and when he got word of the movie premier party, he invited me to Seoul with him.   

The movie premier was earlier in the evening and I couldn’t make it to Seoul until later due to my teaching hours.  Considering that it’s a Korean film with no subtitles, shrugging it off was easier than deciding what utensil to eat soup with.  I was able to rendezvous with the party for dinner following the showing.  When I walked in, I was the only foreigner besides my Moroccan friend.  I felt a bit out of place, but much of the crew, cast members, associates and friends were very welcoming.  A forest of empty soju bottles might be to blame for such a warm welcome.  Regardless, I was able to entertain them with my “foreign-ness” and they returned the humorous favor of cultural misunderstanding.  And getting past that sense of intimidation or star-struckness was simple, mainly because I didn’t know who they were.  Despite being oblivious to their popularity, it’s quite cool to say I hung out with Korean movie stars.  The night was eventful and entertaining, but everyone eventually slithered out the front door by 3am. 

My friend and I wanted to celebrate with one more drink somewhere closer to our final destinations.  We decided on Itaewon, the ethnic melting pot of Seoul (also reputable for drawing in bad crowds).  After grabbing some seats in a basement bar, we went to the bar to grab our night caps.  By now it’s 4am and the bar is pretty crowded, full of people in search of as much fun as we were.  We ordered, laid the money down and did our about-face from the bar.  In the midst of turning back towards are seats, Ismail bumped into a girl and spilled the head of his drink on her arm.  This girl was not having fun and she used this occasion to make it known.  After a short, over- dramatic verbal fit, she slammed Ismail’s drink on the floor where it shattered.  Focused on appeasing this girl’s rage, we didnt notice the attention she generated. 

Next moment, Ismail was hit my some guy flying out of right-field.  He then hit me.

I grabbed him to constrain him.

A few seconds later, someone else descended out of no where to introduce a blunt, un-called for object to my forehead.  

That was the end of the scuffle when I realized that I was bleeding profusely.   The bar manager got me into a cab and to a hospital.  A long night with hospital interns finally culminated into 6 stitches.  No serious damage was done and my cut has fully recovered.  Just a very unfortunate ending to a fine night.

Miller Time = Cell Phone

Aside from becoming nocturnal, I developed one other habit here in Korea.  Almost every night, I finish teaching, go home to change clothes and hustle up the Catholic University to shoot some hoop.  Occasionally, I meet some new people and join them.  One night, I played with a guy who spoke enough English to talk about more than my name and where I am from.  It turns out that night, he had to work on an English speech.  The topic he chose to speak about was “Miller Time”.

He asked me for some help.  I agreed.

Considering that the subject of this blog is basketball, you may identify the appropriate “Miller Time” reference.  However, there are Miller Time bars here that glorify MGD, so the immediate connection I made was to this (the “Miller Time” associated with drinking Miller beers).  When I expressed my surprise that he was able to write his paper about chugging beers, he informed me he wanted to talk about the original “Miller Time.”  The “original” being the final fading minutes of an NBA basketball game where Reggie Miller, lifer of the Indiana Pacers, would magically nail three pointers to win or tie a game.  Turns out Reggie Miller was he favorite player, so we composed a speech explaining the true “Miller Time”, as well as the impostor.

 

Following my help, he thanked my abundantly.  Two days later, he returned the favor.  I needed to get a new cell phone, but the paper work and conversation skills required to do so far exceeded my capabilities.  So he went phone shopping with me.  His paper and my cell phone, both unachieveable without our fortunate meeting.

What’s a Halloween?

I’ve never had to identify the origins of Halloween, justify wearing a costume or explain why we say “trick or treat” until my Korean students asked me.  I’m not sure I know the facts, but thanks to wikipedia and youtube I had something to tell my students.  My manager, less interested in the facts and more focused on the opportunity Halloween provided, was more excited than Charly when he found the last golden ticket.  My manager is a talented craftsman, but with no reason to utilize his skill (I told him I needed a desk.  30 minutes later i had one).  So after discussing the idea for a Halloween party, he spun off making bats, skulls, skeletons, mummies, caskets etc.  Everyday, he was fashioning something different from poor-man materials. (Everything you see in pictures, he made from nothing better than styrofoam).  It was quite intersting to observe his enthusiasm, but it all cycled back to me via the student’s curiousity and innumerable questions.

By the time we had the party, the school had been completely transformed.  I was astonished when 70% of our students arrived in costume.  It was so awesome that they embraced the holiday.  We played trivia and picture games and of course let them practice saying “Trick or Treat” (a ridiculous amount of times).  The main event of the evening was ‘bobbing for apples’, where the kids proved to be truly couragious and sacfriced a sunken wet noggin for a successful bob.  I had twenty kids pull an apple out within 30 minutes.  My expectations…abundantly exceeded.

And another one

Seemingly the only musical group capable of producing pop songs that every store, restaurant, mall and mp3 player will take under their wing for months of repetition.  I introduce Korea’s Wonder Girls.  If you could just get one of these girls to publicly smoke a cigerette…underage smoking and tobacco company profits would sky rocket.  This group is a drug itself, I swear.

Click here. Become an addict :  

The Mediocre Outdoors

Korea boasts some of the most outstanding natural venues and in large quantities, about 70% of the country is blanketed with mountains and rivers.  Visiting these great outdoor arenas is on my agenda.  But as of now, in comparison to what the Korean landscape offers, I have only experienced the mediocre versions of outdoor fun. 

 

Hiking

In Korea, hiking has a more legitimate claim as a national pastime than The States has on baseball.  Perhaps to no surprise, there are more mountains to hike than places to heckle a batter.  I alone have serveral options for hiking no more than a 15 minute walk from my apartment.    A Korean hiking gear  evolution has generated titanium adjustable hiking poles, so leave your crooked, dying Oak tree apendage at home.

I have been hiking a few times at a mountain range near my place.  There is some really great hiking trails, as well as many Buddhas and Buddhist temples.  The most interesting and memorable things I have crossed paths with while hiking have been outdoor excercise centers and a natural spring.  The oddly out of place excercise areas, which have a variety of equipment and weights, are literally situated on top of the mountains.  As for the natural spring, it ran through this rock tunnel a foot below the ground.  At one spot, there is a hole allowing access to the stream.  There were cups and strainers hanging on a tree nearby.  And we utilized those to enjoy the most rejuvinating and refreshing water I have ever drank.  One old man was there filling up around 10 two liter bottles and he told us that this was the only water he drinks.

 

White water Rafting

I have no picutres of this mini-excursion, just memories of no white water and an overwhelming surplus of rafting and paddling.  Eight people in our raft and 4 of them were Korean princesses, well at least they thought they were.  Regardless of their status, the paddling of an oar was a chore far beyond their willing efforts.  My friend Luke and I shouldered the burden of human engine.  Exhausting, but the Korean crowd definitely redefined white water rafting and made it pretty fun and hilarious.  Amongst all this chaos, the ride down the river through the mountain valley was beautiful.

When I dont have to teach

Someone came to visit me.  Might be a big suprise, but it shouldn’t be.   My vacation time was dependent on the public school’s scheduled vacation, which apparently remains undisclosed until like a month before.  Get early tickets.. save money…forget it.  On a whim, an educated and informed one, Glenna snagged a ticket and was here a month later during my undefinable vacation time.  I was able to play tour guide for a week, but it was a tour I had wanted to take since arriving here.

Glenna’s 90 ton escort set wheels down in Seoul.  Zach, her next biggest escort, picked Glenna up since I couldnt make it to Seoul until midnight.  We started our tour that night and I introduced Glenna into a city that doesnt sleep (a brief introduction in light of her 14 hr flight).  In hopes of brevity and consuming only a fraction of your free time, Im just going to mention some highlights. 

Seoul

The most interesting thing we did in Seoul was visiting some of the Palace complexes that are situated amid metropolis areas.  A contrast of modern and ancient scenes was suprisingly beautiful.  We trampled over Seoul Tower, Dondaemun (downtown river walk) and many other must see spots, but still fell short of conquering this enormous city.

 Daegu

Since I live outside Daegu, we switched themes when Glenna came down to my home.  We went hiking to see a very popular Buddha, name Gotbowi, that is frequently visited by Koreans.  Ive been told that many parents brave the challenging climb to pray for their children’s grades on upcomping exams.  Upon conquering this deceptively exhausting natural staircase, my understanding of the importance of education tripled.  However, the hike and summit were well worth the work even if you dont have a child suffering at the hands of Korea’s mentally draining and relentless educational system.  Following that excursion, I introduced Glenna to Daegu metropolitan area and it’s myriad of shopping streets which breed indecisiveness.  In my case, my indecisiveness is just exacerbated. 

One of my experiences in Korea has been eating Sam ge tang (a hot pot containing one entire chicken stuffed with rice simmering in a delicious broth).  There is no justice in calling it chicken soup, especially by any standards we hold at home.  One of Korea’s most traditional and healthy meals, I had to take Glenna.  We went to an infamous Sam ge tang restaurant (on tuesday) and there was 20 person wait.  Stores being a step in any direction, the wait was easily endured and the food was well worth it.

 Pusan

Our first night in Pusan was in Haeundae, the most popular and lively beach.  Constantly packed with visitors as it is a venue for numerous festivals throughout the summer.  Different than most beach scenes, Haeundae is a city on the water.  There at least 30 motel/hotels where you can go from sand to lobby to in 2 minutes walking.  There, Glenna and I were able to party as well as relax together.  The second place we stayed was Hwanali Beach.  This beach was much less populated.  This distiguishable beach is a cove tucked between two popular penisulas of Pusan, connected by a emaculate suspension bridge.  This particular sea view is memorable and certainly distinct from others.  We enjoyed beautiful weather,  coastline activites, hiking and some wonderfully affordable sushi in the world’s 4th largest harbor.

Who’s pushing McCains wheelchair?

Trying to imagine the traditionally well publicized presidential jog with McCain was president, the first mental picture my mind pieced together was him in a wheelchair, hands up in excitement being pushed down the White House front lawn by some intern.  Erroneous as all that is, I’m wondering who is pushing his political wheelchair right now.  Someone was pushing McCains wheelchair faster than Obama’s party could jog in the past week.  Though McCain is a soft Republican trying to bridge parties, Obama is tagged as the main proponent of slashing bipartisanship.  This is why I was shocked when I heard that McCain’s party had seized the moment first to call for a break in campaigning to address the immediate concerns of the US economy.  Political props to whoever is pushing that wheelchair and initiated that political move. 

However, McCain called for a halt to everything campaign related, including a debate.  Even though, the bi-partisanship  axing maneuver trumps most other moves, it seems that McCain is running away from a debate that will undoubtably be surrounded with economy questions.  A subject he cant seem to project any kind of experience ( a backbone to his campaign).  Obama has the better ability to face these economic questions. 

More importantly, McCain’s call to delay the debate highlights that he understands the importance of addressing this economic meltdown, but also that he is unable to understand and address it himself at a debate.  Or he is just scared to do it.

Obama’s rebuttle was suprisingly perfect.  He disagreed with delaying the debate and simply stated that maybe the future president might have to address more… than one issue at a time.

The Amazing Race (a regionalized version)

In Daegu, there exists a pretty capable and well-knit foreigner network.  Events and parties are regularly planned.  Though most of us are here to garner a new experience and dip into Korean culture, we tend to congregate frequently.  As for the Korean culture dipping…its simply unavoidable, so I dont feel though I sacraficed any truly authentic experiece thus far.  However, I do understand more than ever the challenges and difficulties that any immigrant must face in the U.S or elsewhere.  The comfort and campanionship that stem from socializing with people from similar backgrounds is irrefutable. 

Events, shows etc. are organized by our foreigner network almost weekly, but one unforgetable event was a less elaborate and less expansive version of “The Amazing race.”  This is a reality TV show which challenges 2 person teams to travel to different corners of the world and complete some challenge. 

The Daegu Amazing race was constrained the the city limits.  The first challenge was the “Soju Walk”.  Soju, a poorly distilled and taste bud brutalizing alcohol, is the preferred substance of Koreans.  This challenge required one partner (me) to chug a small cup of vulgar soju, then proceed to guide my bilid-folded partner (Tae-Young) down a densely populated shopping pedestrian street downtown Daegu.  Now, she has another cup of soju, which cannot lose a drop of its precious liquid contents or we must start over again (which would mean another shot).  To fully comprehend the level of difficulty, it should be clear that the cultral norm in Korea is to text, watch TV etc. on your phone while walking compounded with the fact that frequent disregard for fellow pedestrians is widely practiced.  All these obstacles had me feeling like Indiana Jones in the Temple of Doom.  But after some careful navigating, we reached the end, avoided more soju and moved on to the other events. 

 The other events included consuming some of the spiciest sushi I have ever encountered, beating Dance Dance Revolution (an incredibly popular Korean arcade game), playing an ancient Korean traditional arrow throwing game, singing Back Street Boys song on a stage and attempting to get at least 3 Koreans to join us and dance (we failed that one).

The last challenge was a race to the top of Daegu Tower, which is a 77 floor tower, and doing the Sky Jump (basically a bungee jump from the top).  Terrifying to say the least.  But I walked the plank of terror and jumped (well they kind of had to push me off).  Tae-Young and I got a taxi, returned and found out we were 6th place.  Not too bad out of 28 teams though.

Beach apparel and a Taxi Driver

Keep in mind that Korea is a penisula and 80% of its border is coast.  Nonetheless, the second largest city, Pusan, is disproportionately favored as the summer getaway.  Popular and populated.  Its really hard to imagine how busy this beach is.  This is how I tried to describe it for my Dad:

Its college football Saturday in Ann Arbor and Ohio State is visiting.  The Big house is packed.  Every seat around the stadium has two cheeks pasted to it.  Take that massive ring, cut it, unravel it and unroll it onto a beach.  Now invite everyone who couldnt find tickets to join the sandy catastrophe.  Enter tourist. Find a place for that towel.   

Granted it was a holiday weekend and there was a giant Sand Festival.  Despite the pedestrian madness, which is usually irrelevent to location and density of people, Pusan is a beautiful coast city.  Zach and I made a damn good trip of it and there are a couple things that I dont want to forget, so I’ll share them.

First, after laying on the beach for about 10 minutes, our popularity almost matched that of Pusan during the summer.  I was pretty used to getting glared and oogled at by now, but people were actually stopping and taking pictures of us.  After some time, it began to feel as if we were an exhibit.  Simply being a foreigner wasnt enough to attract this level of attention.  Trying to solve this enigmna for some time, we finally identified our second stigma.  Additional to being foreign, we were wearing bathing suits and absorbing some mildly harmful, but appearance improving sun rays.  Not a stigma you say.  Ok, well after careful observation we found that a significant majority of our beach buddies remained safely hidden under giant beach umbrellas.  Those that ventured out from the shade wore t-shirts, pants, jeans and even button-up dress shirts into the water.  It seemed to be standard beach apparel.  This was only upstaged by girls walking through the sand with 4 inch heels on.  I believe that we were looking back at Koreans that day just as oddly as Koreans were looking at us.  This memory’s intention is not to be derogatory in anyway toward Korea, just a simple reminder that even in familiar setttings…I am not at home.

Second, Zach and I’s little friendly quarrel with a taxi driver.  There have been numerous taxi experiences, but this one tops the list.  The condensed version is as follows: during our exit from a cab, a cheap sun shield visor adhered to the back right door was knocked loose and cracked.  Im not exactly sure how it happened, but we apologized and continued walking toward our destination.  Little short footsteps scurried up behind us.  It was the taxi driver telling us that we owed him $20 for this slightly injured plastic accessory.  Now, I understand his displeasure with the condition of his visor, considering that the cab is his livelyhood.  However, trying to charge us that much was absurd.  After bartering with him for way too long, the sun came up and we finally gave him $4 to be on our way.  Yeah, thats how the night ended.  But I got a pick of the action, so worth it.

Resurrection of U.S. – U.K. antipithy

We use to shout “the reds are coming, the reds are coming”, but colors have changed and so has warfare.  Surely, the following is not what you had in mind.  If it is, then you are one insightful and omniscient human being.  But for most of you, please enjoy and you can draw your own conclusions, because Im not sure what to tell you to think about this…

http://edition.cnn.com/video/data/2.0/video/world/2008/09/02/vanmarsh.uk.squirrel.wars.cnn.html