Farewell countdown

대한민국!!!!

Just finishing up day 13 on the farewell countdown and I started thinking of the oddities I'd miss here. I mean... aside from the obvious friends, students, steady income, apartment, city stuff, what will I miss?


1. Jimjilbangs! Oh beloved Haggye sauna, you stole my heart in the cold winter months. You quickly became one of my favorite spots in the city. Pyramid salt sauna, I'll miss you most of all...


2. Never needing a key for anything ever. (This wouldn't be true if my bike hadn't been stolen but I suppose that's one positive in the situation?) Where is that old Wizard of Oz St. trusty key chain now... I'm gunna need it back for the states! No touchpad entry... pssh. Get with the times US!

3. Hearing and seeing Korean. There isn't much that makes me prouder than realizing I understand something in Korean with my limited knowledge. I also really like when I don't understand any of it and can tune the world out. English everywhere=info overload.

4. Ajumas and Ajushis (esp the mountain climbing, face mask wearing variety) What will I do in a world of people who have no idea the hilarious, sometimes scary, sometimes amazingly sweet class of older folks here in Korea and their kick ass strength and super human ability to sell things on the subway, clean the streets, climb mountains, and straight up rule this place! (run on sentance much?)

5. Bad or unknown translations. Just today I was tempted to by a Barbarian Filled Doughnut. I also had my glasses made in the "Fiction Creation Room" and went to choir practice at the "Cult Center". And how could I ever forget the quiet teenage girl on the subway with the t-shirt that read "Take me to the Strippers"?

6. Couples outfits. What will I do without seeing couples in matching horrid outfits and window displays of the undies they may have underneath?

7. Easy cheap trips with Adventure Korea and others... yes I know, there are probably equivalents elsewhere, but you'll always remember your first!

1st Temple Stay

8. The ease of making friends. Although not true in all cases, since foreigners are constantly coming and going, there is a pretty open and friendly environment here. You're here, you're our friend, let's have fun!

9. Random encounters where I'm treated as a celebrity (or possibly a circus act). The stares can get annoying, mostly I've grown accustomed to not noticing any more, and it's not so bad in Seoul. The times when I was asked for a photo were hilarious though.

Probably my most photographed moment:

Bare Hands Ice Fishing

So you can get a feel of the scene. A ring of icy water full of foreigners being stared at by Koreans (to be fair, we were one group, the rest were Koreans being stared at by Koreans).

10. Everything I took for granted. The hiking and biking trails I barely used, the endless options for new and exciting adventures, the things I didn't blog about when I should have (Ulleungo, Japan, etc, etc, etc.), the nearby mountains (which I climbed for the first time with Adam here), the friends I wish I could have had more time to see amidst the rush of our busy schedules, the photos shoots that never came to be, pretty much everything. You can always juice more out of life...

Ulleungdo -Chusok (Korean thanksgiving) 2009
1st Bridge Jump Ever



The year of 2 Halloweens
Friday- Sally from Nightmare before Christmas
Saturday- Strawberry (turned narcoleptic strawberry due to 6 am subway trekking)

Tokyo- New Years 2010





도봉산 - Dobong Mountain

Gay Pride Parade- June 12, 2010

11. The Kids, the Kids, the Kids. Yea, I said that was obvious, just thought I'd say it again.








I'd like to pop a few more blogs out about Korea before I go (or even after I go) but in case I don't...

It's been a great (sometimes bumpy) ride. I will cherish every minute of it my aging mind can recall. I have learned so much, and met so many genuinely amazing and inspiring people. This was truly one of the best decisions of my life, and I hope to keep making more good decisions like this. If so I'll be a happy woman! (and if not, hey, I can just come back to Korea! :P )



Love you Korea!

-Monica

Main Roads and Election Confusion

So elections are going on here in Korea. What this consists of I have no idea. I'm not going to claim to be knowledgeable here. Just my observations as a clueless, wide-eyed foreigner that doesn't watch TV or read the papers...

1. Campaign workers are creepy. They wait around subway entrances and exits in lines with matching (almost) neon shirts (I think of them as the blue team and the green team) with Miss America style sashes that say I don't know what (all in Korean of course). They wait for people to pass and then bow very deeply (to show respect) and yell some chant at you. Which of course, with my limited knowledge of Korea, all I can gather is that they are speaking very formally. Sometimes there is a person passing out business cards. It's hilarious that they still try to hand them to me.

2. Campaign truck platforms are scary. The one by school had a picture of a candidate with a child holding a lunch plate on his lap on the back and then inside the platform there was a character wearing a chef head. Come home and there is one on the opposite corner of my building shouting from his into a mike... I think other people are shouting back at him. He sounds angry. Hmm.... Close the window.


I'd go research what these elections are all about but I'm pretty amused by my ignorance.


The joys of living on a main road. Close the the subway, constant light and sound pollution, overhearing fights from the HOFs (beer places) and domestic disputes as old drunk men threaten to get in their cars parked on the main road and drive away, random car horns and bad Korean music blasting from car stereos... and now, loud angry election campaigning. Oh wait... I think only one of those was a good thing. ;) hehe.


I have about 5 trips backlogged I might one day want to write about, but I felt compelled to blog the mundane.



Tentative return date: June 29th. You ready USA?

New Song!

Here's an original I wrote called "Away from the Concrete"





As you can see I'm still working out the kinks. Comments? Suggestions?

Thanks!

Genocide Awareness Event

So today and last night my friends Sean and Mel and their friend Molly put on a genocide awareness even hosted by Roofers in Itaewon. What a wonderful time! Last night there was capoeira and belly dancing performances, tons of friends showed up, and it was an all around nice time!

Today for the daytime part of the even there was art for silent auction, all you could eat home baked pastries with the entrance donation, a slideshow of digital photographs being displayed, spoken word poetry performances and one singer as well. The vibes were nice, everyone was so friendly and it was just an all around nice and relaxing Sunday afternoon! A few of my photographs were for sale in the slideshow which I was really excited about as its really the first time my works been out and shown anywhere! I bought a couple prints and Maggie bought one of mine as well! So flattered! :)

Then Maggie and I went at the wonderful Indigos and talked before heading home.

All and all a really nice Sunday. Better than my usual Sunday of being a hobbit indoors these days!


Oh by the way, all the proceeds are going to Doctors without Borders and it would be really great if you would like to contribute as well!

Doctors without Borders Website



Update: The event raised 1,950,000 KRW which is about $1650 for those of you back home. Most excellent!

Cherry Blossom Bike Tour!

Wow... I haven't posted in 3 months! Yikes I've been slacking!

So this weekend I went with some friends to Gyeong ju "World cultural heritage city rich in thousand-year-long history and tradition" for a bike tour to look at the cherry blossoms. It's about 4 hours by bus south of Seoul. Our first taste of real warmth in many, many months!

Hannah, Maggie and I left our apartment building at about 5:15 am to meet the group at Express Bus Terminal by 6:15 am. Off on the bus and picked up our rental bikes at the bike shop at around 10:30. There were 3 buses full of people for this trip! The first day we mostly biked around. Didn't stop for photos as much as I would have liked but it was beautiful, and I was pretty proud that I'm a lot more confident on a bike these days! When we arrived at the lake it was so crowded we had to walk our bikes. There were kids and adults alike with rented mini motorcycles and quads (none of which were wearing helmets!) Hmm... safety rules are pretty lax in these parts! We stopped to have some Korean food for lunch. After that we decided to go for a swan paddle boat ride. There were 11 of us on 3 boats and we had a fun time singing and racing and playing paddle boat chicken... or swan? Cheesy joke.

After that we had some dinner and then went back to the hotel. Us 3 girls were almost asleep when we got the call to go for a little get together in our friend's room where we drank a little and played Uno. I raced a friend down the hallway after and lost pretty badly. I never was a runner...

The next day we went for a walk near the hotel and through this park area. Vendors were selling silk worms but I opted for a corn dog instead... though I swear I must try the silk worms before I go. I heard they taste just as you'd expect. Yum?

We then hopped on the bus as went to the beach for a little bit. The warmth was gone as it was overcast. We happened upon some Buddhist ceremonies on the sand and people feeding flocks of seagulls. There were people in tents hitting instruments and chanting while others on the beach were bowing and meditating. After some snacks we headed back to return our bikes and head home. We didn't get back to Seoul until after 10! Long weekend but so fun and beautiful.








3 buses full! Can you find me? Nah...




Hannah in front of Cheomseongdae Astronomical Observatory "Visitors come and find it full of scientific surprises and mysteries."






View of the park area



wow... I look stunning









The journey begins here... we're already lost. :)








Riding next to Bomunho Lake!




Right after this we were bombarded by a band of boys attempting to talk to us in broken English.
Always fun being a foreigner in Korea!









Swan paddle boats on Bomunho Lake









Michelle and Maggie riding in the back.


Playing some paddle boat chicken!





They kept trying to capture a kiss!


I think we took more photos of each other on the boats than anywhere else... odd!





Look mom no helmets! This was the safest part though. Big and open. Most of the lake path was really narrow with lots of pedestrians to ram into! :)


The Cheomseongdae Astronomical Observatory (aka the tower) at night.


Day into night.





lost kite








royal tombs






Mr. Red Bean Paste man about to ruin some perfectly good pastries with his monstrous mountain of red bean paste.





Day 2 in the park taking photos!


Just before rubbing her face in the flowers. :) Marvelous.





Maggie, Chad, Anthony, Me, Hannah


Anthony wasn't feeling the 300 jumps.


Where are our instruments?



Steps to the park.


lucky 13


Hannah and Chad. There is a tomb behind them in the rocks.


Hannah telling us about punching waves. Getum!


Amanda, Michelle, Chad, Anthony. I think they are watching Hannah skip stones...







Me and the tomb. So chilly!


The Ajumas 3


Kim (seaweed) vendors


Kim chopper


Buddhist ceremony of some sort. I didn't peek in the tents on the hill next to me and photograph the men making music inside. I really wanted to though...


Some folks feeding the birds. Seagulls seem so out of place after 9 months in Seoul!