Seoul Brother Version 2.0 or British Embassy... ing.

On a whim, George and I upped and went to Seoul this past weekend. When I say on a whim, I really mean he asked me to go on a Thursday, and we were en route to the megalopolis Saturday morning. We arrived at about 2 ish (after having left at 10-- having planned to be on a bus by that time-- yeah, I was late). Although the ride is long, the buses stop for about 15 minutes halfway through.

Once we got there, and George didn't get us lost on the subway,

we booked an overly priced hotel in Itaewon, and headed for the British Embassy to say hello to the British Ambassador to Korea, Martin, his wife Fiona, and their son, Thomas-- family friends of George's parents. Aside from the fact that they had to leave early to have dinner at the Korean Prime Minister's house, they were an extremely normal and lovely family. Fiona showed me around the Embassy; she showed me where they host dinner parties, and their incredibly beautiful English-esque (so she says) garden where events are also hosted. We sipped English tea and peach papaya juice, and chatted about hockey-- don't get me started. Thomas then showed George and I the pool and gave us a more intricate tour of the garden. We only stayed for just under two hours, as they had dinner plans and we wanted to start our evening.

Terrace view of the backyard/garden

Low level view

Terrace

Back of the Embassy

Poolside (sort of)

Suffice it to say, this was absolutely one of the highlights since I've been here. We are planning to go back once Gyeongju FC games dwindle down, and summer takes full effect. As George put it so eloquently (he wants to be a guest writer on this post-- so I'm sure he'll tell you about it in his own words) when we return, we can use the Embassy's amenities to their fullest extent. Swim in the pool, attempt to play tennis, walk around the garden, drink gin and tonic on the terrace. I'm not sure how a weekend could be better spent.

After we said our goodbyes and promised to meet up with Thomas after dinner, we went and ate at a super cute French bistro in Itaewon. Unfortunately, the best part of the meal was George's salmon appetizer and the French wine we ordered, as my plaice was not up to par, and my celery and pumpkin soup tasted like pureed nothing. But after eating only about five things in Gyeongju, pureed nothing and mediocre fish is still better than most things we could get back home.

When we finished our meals we met up with Thomas and his friend Nina for drinks. I wish I had gotten more pictures of the four of us at the first bar we went to, as it was so beautifully decorated and so Westernized they didn't even serve Korean beer. Nina left shortly afterwards, and the three of us ended up at a Mexican restaurant where we drank London Pride, and I answered Thomas' polite questions about Michigan and the Great Lakes-- a topic I am all too willing to discuss.

Eventually we transferred locations to a bar that offered strawberry soju by the pitcher. Not the classiest of drinks. But I did get good pictures.

An ode to MC Hammer

George and Thomas

To be continued.
aka...
I'm almost late for work.

How are you today, _____?

Logan: "I am hot and not so good."

Diana: "I am great!"

Julie: "I am so-so and excellent."

Luis (yellow): "I am kray-gee!"
Daniel (red): "I am good! And bad! And kray-gee! And beautiful!"

This pretty much sums up the first half of each day. Yes, they are cute, but don't let those tiny Korean faces fool you. Although these are some of my best students, some of them make me want to make a fast escape out the window, down the ladder, into the not-so-bustling town below. I have, however, gotten into the groove of teaching all 68 of my students. If you know me (and I'm assuming most of you do, otherwise you would not follow this blog), then you know I majored in secondary education. Come to think of it, I've had already exposed this inner dialogue before. Regardless, let it be known, once again, that I did not choose elementary education for a reason. I would much rather have a real conversation with my students as opposed to having to wipe away their ever so frequent tears, explain the differences between "on", "in", and "under", and break up their fights-- although their arguments can be extremely amusing. If I felt I could accurately recreate one such fight, I would try. But you really need to be there to witness the fickleness that is so apparent in these children.

Issues are often solved with a simple "rock, paper, scissors" game. Or in Korean, "Gah-lee, gah-lee, GOH!" Even my older students who have been friends and classmates at English World for years will get into a verbal confrontation, and then quickly resort to rock, paper, scissors to ultimately decide who is right, and who is rocked. It is not uncommon to see grown men in the streets participating in the same act.

What is even more amusing is the game where students will hold one of their legs in a perpendicular fashion to the ground, bounce around on one foot, and try to knock each other over. Wonder where this kind of resolution comes from? You need not look any further.

Commentator #1: "Holy rice cakes, Byeoung! That pitcher just nailed #51 in the arm! Looks like there's gunna be a fight... oh.. he's going for it... ASSA! The entire team is in a foot-tastic frenzy!"
Commentator #2: (laughing) "Let's hope their children aren't watching!"

As I always say, better foot fights than Taekwondo. Haha! For realsies though. Isn't it always the adults?

Man Eating June Bug versus Puggle Puppy.

Miles!



"Did you ever walk into a room and forget why you walked in? I think that is how dogs spend their lives." -Sue Murphy

Time you enjoy wasting is not wasting time.

The title of this post is a quote by Bertrand Russell (British author, mathematician, philosopher), and I feel it accurately describes the hours I spend chatting with friends over pasta rather than working on lesson plans, stumbling the internet, and reading when I should be (or at least I tell myself) studying the Korean alphabet. It also perfectly describes this past weekend, as seen below. Also, some pictures from the past few weeks, per the request of people who don't have Facebook, and have made some sort of statement regarding my face. So, you (we) go.

Playground from down below

View from George and Steve's roof

Matt, Jay and I

Jay, Kayley, and George's arm

Kayley and I/A&B/Red and Blue

Feelin that TWO-TONE!

The only really recent picture of me, taken this past Saturday. Per the usual, I'm not looking at the camera.

It is officially June, which almost marks my three month anniversary of my time in Korea (short of three days). If I could explain how fast a quarter of a year has gone by, I would. But alas, I cannot, and I can only say that my time here has gone by as fast as everyone said it would. I feel like I need to do a lot more. I want to visit Seoul in the daytime, swim in the sea in Busan, hike Namsan, bike along unmarked trails, and learn how to cook. I want to go to a South African braai, play guitar in a coffeehouse (getting there), and master the Korean alphabet. In time.

I saw this back at home and it made my day. Hopefully it will makes yours, too. A tribute to Miles, pug(gles), and dog lovers everywhere.

Love, love, love.

Seoul Sister (Brother)

In t-minus 8 hours, I will be on a 4.5 hour bus ride en route to Seoul.

There will definitely be some mad updating when I get back on Sunday.

-로라

Update: I didn't arrive in Seoul until 5 p.m. yesterday, because I was busy following a live Red Wings blog during during game 3. Definitely a mistake. There is way too much to see in that city of 10 million to feel aesthetically or culturally fulfilled after having only been there for a night and a day.

En Route:

Couples like to dress alike

Arrival:

Sick.

Seoul is a mad house. I met up with some friends in Itaewon, which is around the corner from a military base. While there, one can't help but stumble upon hundreds of Westerners; at least one third of the pedestrian traffic. Easily. This is a huge change from life in Gyeongju.

International cuisine is everywhere. There are Shawarma street vendors, Greek, Mexican, Cambodian, Vietnamese, and Caribbean restaurants. There are New York Steakhouses, Thai curry stands, authentic Italian hole-in-the-wall restuarants, etc. You name it, Seoul has it. It is literally one of the biggest metropolitan cities in the world, second to only Tokyo.

* * *

We ate dinner at a Greek restaurant called Santorini, where I was able to indulge in saganaki and chicken with lemon sauce (amazing). After dinner we went to a bar called The Bungalow, where you sit in hammock-type chairs, the floor is filled with sand, and margaritas are a reasonable price (W7,000 = $5.50 US). The Bungalow got old real quick, though. There were too many military men doing too many tequila shots, all the while making Americans look like fools who drink too much. So we left, and headed for Hongdae.

Hongdae is one of the 25 major districts in Seoul. Having never been to New York or Los Angeles, this was my first real taste of any sort of metropolis. I loved it too much. There is an endless nightlife, people from all over the world enjoying each others' company, live music in every third bar (or at least it seemed), incredible dance clubs, and, as previously stated, 24 hour international cuisine vendors available on every corner.

A dance club in Hongdae.

The night (morning) ended late. Even though it was 7 a.m., I was too awake to sleep, so I hopped a bus back to Gyeongju at 7:55, and arrived back in my little microcosm near 12:00. Whenever I go back to the city that boasts 10 million people (22 million in the greater metropolitan area), I will be sure to book a motel.

A Cognitive Jog

Another Sunday night, another weekend concluded. A million thoughts are floating around in my head; some nostalgic, some hopeful, some too difficult to explain with any detail or intricacy. I have a lot of questions.

I was watching Larry King today on CNN and there was a panel of people discussing the importance of positive thinking, which would lead to positive thoughts, which would then inevitably lead to good karma. You get back the positive energy you exude, and when someone else is making the decision to be cruel or unkind to you, that is their karma, not yours. It is your decision to then either allow their negativity to be mirrored within yourself or to ignore it, learn from it, and grow as an individual.

The panel also touched on the importance of letting go of the past. Because if we are continually living in aforementioned moments of our lives that have affected us negatively, we will never be able to make progress. That being said, it was discussed that it is also important to make mistakes, because as you all know, without the bad, there would be no satisfaction.

Forgiveness is key, because you never know the initial spark that was ignited in someone to make them do something hurtful. When I say hurtful, I mean in any way. Maliciously, unintentionally, subtly, outwardly, etcetera. Without forgiveness, you cannot let go of pain. But it's all cyclical, isn't it? If you are like me, then you might have the tendency to hold onto pain, because "misery loves company". This does not mean I am miserable, but I, like anyone, have moments where I need to vent my frustrations to people close to me. But by venting my frustrations that means I am seeking not only advice, but attention. Yes, I would like you to sympathize with me because I am only one person, and feeling bad for myself doesn't make me feel any better. But if YOU can at least pretend to understand, or even better, if you can relate to me, then I am no longer alone in my seemingly lonely thoughts and emotions. Therefore, holding onto pain (although I realize is not the healthiest thing to do) connects back to the person that I am now, at this moment, sitting in my chair typing into the (relatively) unknown. Talking to no one and everyone at the same time.

Guilty people seek punishment. Forgiveness is key. You get what you give. You should learn to let go of your past and forgive yourself rather than waiting for others to forgive you first. I suppose it wouldn't be until that happened would you be able to begin any kind of path to self-acceptance and discovery.


There are roses like these lining the streets of Gyeongju. Sometimes I pick one and put it in my hair. I wonder how hard it is to grow them...? There are so many rose bushes sprinkled around the city that I don't think the bushes themselves would miss any of their rose sisters which I've plucked and have used for vain purposes. Right? Hmm. I am having a really hard time ending this post cleverly.

Easy Like Sunday Morning

Last Tuesday on my first day off (thanks, Children's Day!) a few of us went to a beach in a nearby town called Gampo. Technically it was a celebratory event for Beau and Simon's birthday, although it really ended up being a bunch of foreigners drinking wine by the East Sea.

Although the beach wasn't the most beautiful I've been to, the ride to and from was stunning. I told myself I would go back there this weekend because I didn't bring my camera last week and I was kicking myself for not having it at an opportune time for photo taking. So that's been my day thus far. I got up, ate a sandwich, packed my bag, and began my mini solo journey to Gampo.

En Route:

After the gorgeous commute, I bought some Sun Chips and a bottle of water and sat on the curb in what I would consider to be downtown Gampo. Although by no means a progressive town, I highly enjoyed sitting in the sun (what UP 82 degrees!) observing the women in traditional Korean clothing, purchasing fish in the market across the street. Blissfully content. I was contemplating what to do next. Should I go and find a restaurant? No, I thought, because I can't speak the language and I don't want to put any more attention on myself than I already am (old-fashioned Korean town + tall female foreigner + blue tanktop = BIG NEWS). Should I go and try and find a spot to write in my journal? Yes! Brilliant idea, Laura. That was half of the reason I came to Gampo, to write-- the other half being me, in a bus, with my iPod, staring at the full, green mountains.

Before I got a chance to find the perfect seaside spot, however, a white minivan pulled over with a short Korean man smiling at me through the window. The conversation went as follows:

Man: Hi!
Me: Hi!
Man: You... uhhh.. what you do here?
Me: I'm... ummm.. taking pictures?
Man: Okay okay okay okay. Uhh.. but.. mmm.. what you DO here?
Me: I'm an English teacher.
Man: Een-gleesh teech-ah!? AHHHH okay okay okay! Where from?
Me: America.
Man: Ah, okay okay okay. But, uh... where from?
Me: Um... USA?
Man: Gampo?
Me: No no, Gyeongju.
Man: AHHHH okay! Een-gleesh teech-ah GYEONGJU!
Me: Naaaaiiiii. (aka, yes, you got it, it's clicked).

At this point, he gets out of the minivan to come talk to me.

Man: You eat?
showing him my bag of Sun Chips
Me: Yes, I eat.
Man: Ahh no no no, you like eat?
Me: Yes, I like to eat.
Man: Okay! You come wid me and my friend! We go eat!
Me: Me no eat, no hungry.
Man: You NO HUNGRY!? You only eat DEES? (pointing to my chips)
Me: Yep. Me no hungry. Thanks anyways though!
Man: Ahh, okay okay okay. So.. mmm.. we go eat!
Me: Ah, okay. We go eat.

Mind you, this is not something I would ever do back at home. But you should all know that South Korea is literally one of the safest countries in the world. They have serious crime laws. For example, an indisputable 1 year jail sentence if you steal someone's iPod. With this in mind, I got in the minivan.

So The Man, His Friend and I drove to this park by the sea, where they were cooking sam gip sol on a beach mat with a few of their friends. I was kindly greeted and fed more than anyone else there (in Korea, it would be considered highly rude to not try and fatten up your guest with as much food as he/she can stomach). It was hilarious. Not to mention delicious. Sam gip sol is pork rib barbequed on a stove, which once it's cooked, you wrap in lettuce, add some sauce, and eat one piece at a time. It is quickly becoming one of my favorite meals here. I had a couple of drinks with them, attempted to teach them some English, was sang to in Korean, and was then given a ride from The Friend back to the bus terminal so I could come back home, and once again indulge my senses in the grandiose scenery .

The Man

Husband and wife. This guy kept calling me Bingo and giving me high fives.

Sam Gip Sol

Needless to say I had a blast. Everything about today was novel, and I finally got some time to be alone with my thoughts and my music-- wasn't really feeling like I needed much else.

It is now 6:40 PM, and I have an appointment with Nina at 7:00, the Thai masseuse who my friend Steve met while in Phuket. She noticed that my balance is off and was kind enough to offer me free massages until she returns home in a month or so. Although I am obviously about to go, I am nervous because she had said to me, "It will be very painful, because your pain is so deep. China, Japan, Korea massage all same. Thai massage different. Why? Because we heal." I trust her, but I am not looking forward to hurting. I will keep you posted.

Update: 9:27 p.m.
I am now back at my apartment after some serious work being done on my back. I don't feel much better yet, but I believe in the morning I will notice a difference. My Korean friend Duk is taking me to the doctor tomorrow to get my back x-rayed, in hopes that they will tell me exactly what is wrong and how I can fix it. I need to dedicate myself to a doctor, because if this imbalance keeps up, I will eventually be walking with my waist up being completely horizontal. I am sure of it. I am too young to have these kinds of problems and it is a complete nuisannce to feel decrepid when I am only 23. [insert expletives here]. Ugh.

One last thing.

Mom: