8-2-2010
Day 151 of 365: ...within a dream. Throw in the ideas of dream invasion and manipulation, add some Matrix, Shutter Island and any heist movie (The Italian Job and Ronin come to mind) and the result is Inception, Christopher Nolan's latest cinematic juggernaut. It may be unfair to compare movies like this, but that's often what happens when a movie generates as much buzz and critical acclaim as this one has. Already approaching $200 million at the box office in just 3 weeks, Inception to date has also tallied over 100,000 votes on IMDB (Internet Movie DataBase) for an average of 9.1 stars out of 10, which is currently good enough for 3rd best movie of all time behind The Shawshank Redemption and The Godfather on the IMDB Top 250 Films list. (IMDB is widely regarded as the most comprehensive website for movie trivia and info on the web. The IMDB Top 250 Films are voted on by fans.)Before I dissect this movie and upset the fans who have voted it so highly, I first want to say that I really liked it. The special effects were nice and it was mildly thought-provoking, but not "mind-blowing" as described by more than a few people I know. I loved The Matrix, which actually was mind-blowing. Any movie that uses the idea of environment manipulation (whether by dream, computer program, magic or whatever) unfortunately has a high standard to live up to, and The Matrix does "The Matrix" better than Inception. There's also the question of reality. What's real within the realm of the movie and what's fantasy? DiCaprio tackled that theme in his last film. Watching Inception almost felt like de ja vu, having just watched Shutter Island only a few short months ago. As for the plot, I don't want to say too much about the story so as not to give anything away; I hate "spoilers" as much as the next person, but it was basically a heist movie. Google the top 10 heist movies of all time and choose any of them to compare this one to. My final point is concerning Inception's current ranking as the 3rd best movie of all time. I know that hot movies often start off highly ranked and then work themselves down over time, but there is, in my opinion, an unhealthy fan obsession with director Christopher Nolan. I'm pretty sure it started with his Batman movie reboot, Batman Begins (which I loved, by the way). The Batman movie franchise had tanked in recent years and Nolan single-handedly resurrected it, to the praise of millions of comic and movie fans. While much credit was definitely due, the ferver got a little too crazy with the release of the sequel, The Dark Knight (also loved), which was actually the #1 movie of all time on IMDB for several weeks in 2008 before dropping down to it's current spot at #12, which is still not too shabby. So now Inception is #3, but for how long? I'm not saying it's not a great movie, it's just not as deep as many people think and it's definitely not as original. In the end, I know there's "nothing new under the sun", but try a little harder to fake it next time.Grade: A-
7-13-2010
Day 131 of 365: Has it been a month already? Congratulations to Spain for winning their first ever World Cup, defeating the Netherlands in a hard fought 1-0 slugfest. I guess I can get a decent night's sleep again since I won't be waking up every other morning to catch a 330am soccer match. This final was probably the most brutal for me, since the game went into extra time and didn't end until after 6am, when Andres Iniesta put in the winning goal with just minutes left on the clock. Not having enough time to go back to sleep again before work that morning, I ended up winging it on about 3 hours sleep that day. Fortunately it's the last week of school and we're just winding down the semester, and Spain winning was worth the exhaustion. Those who are keeping up know that the 2 teams I'd been cheering for were the US and South Korea, but after they both got knocked out in the round of 16, I needed to pick another team to cheer for, and I felt like Spain was too good to have never won the World Cup. I normally like a good underdog to take down Goliath, but in this case, Spain had paid their dues over the last few years and deserved the title.
Now that the World Cup is over, I'll be working my butt off for the rest of this week in preparation for my school's Summer English Camp, which begins the day after school ends next week. Unfortunately, this means that I'm going to have to break one of my own personal rules, which is to never bring your work home with you. However, I feel like this summer camp is an opportunity for me to prove myself to my co-teachers, since I'm doing all the planning and teaching. If I succeed, I think it'll make next semester go a lot smoother than this first one. If I fail, next semester will be hell. There's really no other way for me to put it.
I think I can say that I underestimated this job when I first got here. I thought it would be hard at first and get easier, but this first semester has actually been the opposite. It started off easy because my co-teachers were bearing the majority of the responsibility. For the first month I was just shooting from the hip and having a good old time. Over the following 3 months they've gradually given me more responsibility, to the point where I'm now basically doing everything and they're primarily in a support role. This is actually how it's supposed to be, I'm just gaining teaching experience by the bucket now instead of by the drop. In fact, on the morning that I only slept 3 hours, I made a student cry for the first time. This sounds negative, but it's actually not. My co-teachers have been getting on my case about being too nice, which causes problems with discipline. I didn't have any nice in me that day though. This kid had it coming all semester too, so I don't feel bad about it. I still don't know how to discipline girls though. They walk all over me.
7-4-2010
Day 121 0f 365: Happy 4th of July to everyone back home! Even though I can't eat BBQ and light fireworks with my friends and family back in Austin, I will find a way to celebrate the 4th in SK, hopefully with other American friends here. Unfortunately I haven't seen a single firework stand since I've been here, so they might not exist like they do in the states, or in Texas at least. It's a shame too since July and August are not drought months in SK like they are back home. It's quite the opposite. Korea gets more rain in these 2 summer months than the whole rest of the year combined. They actually have a name for this time of year too; it's called Jangma. The heavy rain started sometime last week. Checking the forecast for the next week, I found that everyday will be exactly the same - thunderstorms and showers. On the bright side, when it's not pouring, everything outside is green and beautiful, unlike when I first arrived in March when everything was bare and dreary. Since all the school playgrounds and soccer fields are sandlots and not grass, the kids hate the rain because it makes the ground muddy and unplayable very quickly. Over the last couple of months, I'd been stopping off on the way home from school here and there to play baseball with the boys, and more recently soccer. I even bought a soccer ball 2 weeks ago so that I can practice and not embarrass myself in front of the kids. Some of them are really, really good. The weather may put things on pause for a while though. I might need to find some different shoes to walk to school in too, since my sneakers are constantly rain-soaked now. Sandals?
In World Cup news, I was very disappointed that the SK and USA teams got knocked out in back to back games last week, but watching the remaining teams has still been exciting. There have been some major upsets, and there are now only 4 teams remaining: Uruguay, Netherlands, Germany and Spain. It's really hard to say who I think will advance to the final game, but many people are speculating that it will be Germany vs. the Netherlands, with Germany as the favorite now to win the World Cup.
On the school front, I have 2 weeks remaining until summer vacation begins. I'm really excited, but I am super busy right now with end-of-the-year stuff plus preparation for our school's 2 week English Summer Camp. The only positive thing about it is that I get to choose the lessons, activities and games for camp, so I'll finally have a chance to teach them "The Eyes of Texas" (way back in: Keep 'Em Up) among other lessons in Texas culture. Hook 'Em Horns!
Question of the week: Mel - Do a lot of people understand English in Korea?
Answer: Me - I can get by for the most part by speaking broken caveman English to people.
6-26-2010
Day 113 of 365: It's been two weeks since I last posted an entry on my blog. That's the longest I've gone without a post since I started this thing almost 4 months ago. The reason is clear: the World Cup has taken over my life. Even now I am forcing myself to write something at 8:30 Saturday morning, when I normally would either be asleep or getting ready to go to Seoul, because I know I might not have a chance to write for several more days. Since the World Cup started, my schedule has been as follows: go to school in the morning, come home mid-afternoon, watch soccer in the evening and go to bed late after the games are over. It's no wonder I've felt more exhausted lately at school. I even skipped out on going to Seoul last Saturday so that I could watch Japan vs. the Netherlands. What the...?! One thing I can say is that at least I'm saving money. This is also a good time for me to write because the group phase, which is the first round of the 32 team tournament, is over. Tonight begins the matches for the final 16 teams. I've cheered primarily for two teams - USA and South Korea, who were considered underdogs to make it out of the group B. They both made it to the next round and will be playing tonight. I'll be wearing my "All the Reds" shirt for the SK vs Uruguay game at 11pm, followed by my G.I. Joe shirt to watch the US play Ghana at 330am. It's been very exciting for both countries and also for me, since I'm now connected to both.
Question: What do you get when you cross David Beckham, Lance Armstrong and Pearl Harbor? Answer: Landon Donovan. Two weeks ago I wrote about the South Korea team and the hero of SK, Park Ji Sung (last entry: All The Reds). Well the US now has a hero of our own. These two teams really know how to pick their team captains. As much as Ji Sung's brilliant play has kept South Korea alive throughout the tournament, "Captain America's" goal in the 91st minute of the USA's match vs Algeria to seal a 1-0 victory and a spot in the final 16 is the most dramatic moment of this World Cup so far. In the USA, where soccer is the 4th or 5th most popular sport at best, he's uniting divided sports fans and bitter rivals across the country under one cause. And the best part about all of this is that, as far as I can tell, he's actually a guy that you want to cheer for. He's the feel-good story that America hasn't had in a long time. He's not Bonds, Tiger or Kobe. Landon Donovan is one of the good guys. In a country that's full of sports scandals and political incompetence, he's a hero in country that is currently lacking heroes...even if it is only soccer.
It's also fitting for me to talk about heroes since my school had me give a speech yesterday on my grandfather's serving in the Korean war. July 25th, 1950 is the date that the Korean war began, and every year they have a memorial in South Korea to honor those who fought and died. Korean people especially honor the Americans who served to aid them against the North. During my time here, many people, including the principal of my school, have asked me if I had any relatives who had served in the war. After telling him about my grandfather, he asked me to be part of the presentation to honor the 60th anniversary of the 6-25 Korean War (as they call it). My grandfather died 2 years ago, so I had to speak to my mother and grandmother for specific stories and details. Above are a few pictures that I received from my mother. The men who serve and defend our country are the real heroes, and it was an honor for me to tell my grandfather's story.
6-12-2010Day 99 of 365: World Cup. Soccer. The world's sport. It's bigger than the Super Bowl, World Series, NBA Finals, and Tiger Woods scandal combined. "All the Reds" is the slogan this year for South Korea. In 2002, when the World Cup was hosted by SK, the slogan was, "Be the Reds", followed by, "All the Reds Go Together" in 2006. Never in my life have I been interested in "the other football" until I came here. Soccer is the national sport, followed by baseball, and then, I don't know...badminton? Honestly, no matter where you're at, it's hard not to catch soccer fever right now.
On the world stage, Korea's baseball presence might not be felt so much, with their most famous player still being ancient pitcher Chan Ho Park. These days, there are 2 big Korean names in sports. The first is Yuna Kim, the Olympic gold medal figure skater (who everybody knows), and the other is the guy in the picture: Ji Sung Park. I'd never heard of him until I came to SK, but he's a national hero, famous for being less talented than many of his peers, but working hard to get to the top. This is not surprising considering that in 2009, Korea as a nation averaged the most hours worked per week of any modern country. Now, Park Ji Sung (as he's known in SK) is the captain of the underdog South Korea team who put a whooping on Greece in the first round of the World Cup. He didn't disappoint, adding the nail in Greece's coffin late in the match to seal a 2-0 victory. Having sent most of my money home 3 weeks ago to put toward my student loans and beloved Honda Civic (I miss her), I left myself the bare minimum amount of cash to get by with. Unfortunately, I forgot that there was a monthly maintenance bill due for my apartment building, which, in the end, left me with $10 for the next 11 days until I get payed next. It felt like I was in college all over again. This meant that, instead of making a trek to Seoul to watch the game with legions of Korean soccer fanatics, I quietly watched it with ten other people in a pretty little coffee shop in Ansan. This wasn't exactly what I had in mind, but it was still a fun time and I'm glad SK got the win. I am now down to roughly $1.20 with 2 days to go, but I've got a new box of cereal and a carton of milk to help get me by. I was considering making a joke about knowing how North Korea feels now, but that would just be wrong.
After the SK vs Greece match on Saturday night, I had set my alarm for 330am so that I could catch the US team's first round match vs England.
I dreamed that I woke up. Instead, I was up and at my computer around 830 the next morning to find that we tied 1-1. I think a lot of Americans were satisfied with this result since England is a superior team in most people's eyes. Naturally I'm cheering for my home country to do well, but it's been fun jumping in with everyone else and supporting my current home team also. "When in Korea...", right?
06-05-2010
Day 92 of 365: One day after my dismantling (last entry - Brand New Day), I decided that some changes needed to be made. I made up my mind to work harder and more diligently to gain back the confidence of my co-workers. There wasn't anything I could do immediately that morning, so instead I shaved my beard which I'd been growing for a solid 2 months. I'd never grown my beard until now, so I enjoyed having it (especially not needing to shave), but in a way, I didn't even want to look like the same person as before, so it had to go...at least for now. I also took some time to get my apartment in order; something I'd been avoiding for several weeks. I think I've been avoiding many practical matters lately in favor of excitement and adventure, so I took some time to remedy the situation, and I hope that I will be more aware to stay on top of things from now on.
Although I didn't run off to Seoul as per usual, I did have one obligation that afternoon that I was initially not looking forward to. Our school's Cub Scout troop was having a camp-out this weekend at our playground, and my Vice Principle wanted me to attend. The VP and many other teachers from school would be there, and he thought it would be good if I made an appearance. Having no desire to go anywhere near school grounds after what had happened the day before, I initially made up my mind that morning that I wasn't going to go. However, the more I thought about it, the more I realized it would be very good if I went. For one, even though some teachers who were talking trash about me might be there, I wasn't about to back down and show them that I was afraid to show my face after the "truth" came out. Second of all, I was a Cub Scout and a Boy Scout when I was young, so I owed it to the kids to come and help out. Lastly, I needed to show up to remind the VP, the teachers, the parents, and anyone else who may have doubted me, that all the kids love me more than them, and we have more fun together than they do, so they can stick that in their pipe and smoke it.
As of last year, the Cub Scouts, Girl Scouts, Science Scouts, and all other types of scouts in South Korea were combined under the Cub Scout banner. It was fun to see both the boys and the girls wear their uniforms, learn to set up tents and cook their own food. The tent assignments were divided up by grade, with 5-6 kids to a tent, and about 60 scouts total. At dinner time the scouts cooked their dinner with portable stoves in front of their tents, and each tent decided what they wanted to eat. Some cooked bulgogi, others cooked curry or other dishes, and they all had kim chi and rice to go with the meal. Almost every tent I visited at dinner time tried to feed me, so the picture at the top is one of many samples that I had of the kids' cooking. It was all really good actually. That night they had a talent show presentation, followed by a bon fire in the middle of the playground. I didn't spend the night, but I stayed with them pretty late and had a great time not only with the students but with the adults as well. I think my coming, which really was optional, showed the parents and teachers that even though I may still have some shortcomings as a teacher, I really do care about these kids, which hopefully counts for something.
May 31, 2010
Day 87 of 365: Friday sucked. Hard. And since there are many ways that something can suck (though far fewer ways for a Friday to suck), I'll tell you what it wasn't first: It wasn't a sad kind of suckiness, like when a student cried at school or a dog gets hit by a car. It wasn't a frustrating type of sucking, where I just couldn't figure something out or couldn't communicate effectively with the natives. It wasn't overwhelming, where I had too much on my plate to deal with. It wasn't an injury/illness related, homesick (well maybe as a side effect), or boring kind of sucky Friday. What this last Friday actually was...was embarrassing. It was angrifying. Furiating. Painful on a psychological level (yes, I am aware that I am making up words because spell-check is telling me so). I got pwned (Gamer term. I didn't make that one up).
Last Friday I was basically tag-teamed by my two co-teachers on what a bad job I've been doing as an English teacher. This blew my mind because all I've ever heard for the last 3 months is how I've been doing a great job and the kids love me, etc. Mixed messages? Check. Lost in translation of a verbal beat-down? Check. Wanting to throw a desk out of our 4th floor English classroom window? Check. There are only a few categories of people whose occupations bestow upon them the power to scold a grown man. A cop or a judge can do it. Been there, hate that. A boss can do it and so can a mom. Now I know that a Korean co-teacher can do it as well. I'm sure you'd like to know the details of the massacre, but that would be too much to read. I'm not going to say some correcting wasn't needed; I've only been doing this for 3 months. The problem was that they knew that I've never taught before, but they still let me go on this whole time doings some aspects of the job in the wrong way without saying anything. My pride told me to put up a fight, but it probably would have made matters worse, so I just took the beating instead.
The day never got better afterward. I had just gotten blown up, and the best thing that I can say about it was that at least it was on a Friday. That night I had some praying to do, because I was suddenly in a situation where why co-workers didn't really trust me to do my job correctly, I can't escape because I'm obligated by contract to be here for at least another 9 months, and every person who really cares about me is on the other side of the world. Literally. Sometimes we feel like the only way that God can hear us is to pray a super-spiritual prayer that can move mountains, when all we actually have to say is, "God, move that mountain.". If He wants to do it, He will. Otherwise, no amount of effort on our part is going to get it done. In my case, the only way I could communicate how I felt was to pray, "Lord, make me right.". Maybe I've been going about some things in the wrong way since I've been here. Some I've known were wrong, others I've had no idea about. I just prayed that He would make me right in everything.
This brings me to Saturday. As you can see, I don't really have a picture that would accurately depict the essence of today's entry. I guess I could have taken my camera out mid-thrashing to capture my 2 co-teachers taking turns going to town on me, but I didn't think of it at the time. Oddly enough though, I feel like this cover to Amazing Spider-Man #546, appropriately titled, "Brand New Day", sums things up pretty well. This comic was actually in a care package that I received a few weeks ago from my life-long friend Jason, so I thought I'd give him a little shout-out here. Thanks, brother. Saturday really was a brand new day for me. I was still hurting from Friday, but it was good to know that I had a couple days to get over it. Every weekend for the last 2 months I'd been exhausting myself by going 100 miles a minute in order to do and see everything I possibly could; often spending up to 12-13 hours each day in Seoul before making the hour long train ride back to Ansan each night. This weekend I just took it easy. The weather was perfect and I just enjoyed the day. I realized that sometimes bad things happen for a good reason, and in the grand scheme of things, what happened on Friday wasn't so bad, it just felt like it at the time. There's nothing that I can do to change what's happened during the first 3 months, but I can do things differently from here on out. There's a lot more for me to say about last weekend actually, but I think this is good enough for now. Maybe a part 2 coming soon...
05-23-2010
Day 79 of 365: Last weekend I had a chance to participate in one of East Asia's biggest celebrations, the Lotus Lantern Festival. This festival, which is always on the Sunday before Buddha's birthday, is a time for Buddhist monks and believers in Buddhism to celebrate their religion by going to the temples, offering prayers, and lighting lanterns in remembrance of Buddha. There are over 10 million Buddhists in South Korea, which is roughly 1/4 of the total population. In addition, Buddhism, along with Confucianism, have strong influences throughout East Asian culture. I am a christian, so I was just a looker-on as hundreds of people paid homage and performed various rituals in and around the temple we visited in Seoul. I enjoyed the decorations though.
Buddha's birthday is celebrated differently in every country. In India, people dress all in white and go to the temple. In Sri Lanka, people decorate their houses and streets with special candles and lanterns. And in Nepal, Buddha's birthday is celebrated during the whole month according to the Buddhist calendar. Here in Korea, the temples and surrounding areas were flooded with multicolored, paper lanterns, and there was a night parade in Seoul where thousands of people walked down the avenue with homemade lanterns and ceremonial dress. There were also entirely lit floats of tigers, dragons, peacocks and other animals in the parade, as well as various dancers, performers and musicians. It really was a great show, but the combination of the night and brightly lit, moving objects gave my camera some trouble, so I only got a few really good pictures. I think the fire-breathing dragon at the top of the page came out pretty nicely though.
For dinner that night, my never-ending quest to seek out Mexican food in South Korea (which I'll blog about soon) brought me to a taco and burrito place called Tomatillo. It's basically the equivalent of Chipotle, so I'll leave it up to you to decide if that's Mexican or not. Either way, the food was pretty good, if not a tad overpriced. That's to be expected here though.
05-14-2010
Day 70 of 365: Looking at the pics here, you're probably wondering why a Texas boy is laid back wearing a Dodgers jersey, ankles deep in a tank with a foot-fistful of fish? The jersey part is simple: I like pissing off Angels fans. Just kidding. Actually Major League Baseball is very popular in South Korea, as is MLB apparel. This works for me because I happen to be a collector of MLB ball caps, with a few other items to go along with them; LA "gear" included. As for the foot fish clan, I'd like to take this moment to refer you to Dr. Fish. No appointments necessary; walk-ins accepted.
Dr. Fish is a form of skin treatment where the body is submerged under water so that flesh eating fish can have their dinner. In this case it's a form of pedicure. Sounds awesome, right? Actually you've most likely got the image of Piranhas swimming through your head now, but let me assure you that these guys aren't man-eaters. For one thing, the fish don't have teeth, so there's no need to worry about losing a toe. They only eat dead skin, so they hang out on the bottom of your feet for the most part. Knowing this, it's no surprise that given a choice, they prefer men's feet over women's. Also, everyone washes their feet before and after the treatment, so people with certain phobias can be at ease. There are 2 species of "nibbler" fish that are used in this treatment: Garra rufa and Cyprinion macrostomus. I advise first-timers to start with the Garras because they are smaller and less shocking to the system. As is, it still takes most people several minutes, sometimes longer, to feel comfortable with dozens of tiny mouths going to town on the bottom of your feet. Once you feel that you're ready, you can move over to the considerably larger Cyprinions, where you will get that uncomfortable, why-did-I-pay-money-for-this feeling all over again. Where the tiny Garras feel like bubbles or water jets shooting on the bottom of you feet and through your toes, it's actually possible for your mind to conceive the large Cyprinion's mouths sucking on you, which is very unnerving...until it isn't. At some point you stop being so tense and are able to just relax and enjoy it. It's honestly one of the most unique experiences I've ever had.
This type of treatment was actually started in the US according to an article I read online, but they eventually closed down. It has since spread to many countries in Europe and Asia. In Seoul, the business itself is not a clinic, but actually a tea and coffee shop. It has a nice atmosphere, lots of space and a good selection of drinks and other items. The way it works is that each person purchases a drink plus 2,000 Won extra (roughly 2 dollars) if you want to add Dr. Fish. Sessions range from 15-25 minutes depending on how busy it is. I've gone twice so far, and we didn't have to wait long either time. Another cool thing about some coffee shops in Korea, this one included, is that they have free bread and rolls out on the center table that you can toast with butter and jam if you so wish. Just be sure to finish what you take or they charge you extra. It's a pretty sweet deal for the price, which puts Dr. Fish at the top of my list for anyone coming to visit South Korea.
05-06-2010
Day 60 of 365: I know, I know...it's cheezy and unoriginal. As you can surely guess, my topic for today is about my recent visits to Seoul, which is only less than an hour's train ride away from Ansan. Believe it or not, it's sometimes difficult to come up with clever titles for every blog entry that are both culturally relevant and easily recognizable by Americans, which make up probably 95% of my readers. Just be grateful I didn't use "Seoul Train" to talk about the subway system, or "Seoul Food" to expound on Korean cuisine. Then there's "Seoul Music", "Seoul Mates" and "Heart & Seoul", which are all admittedly terrible, but they did pop into my head while I was brainstorming. However, I think my favorite blog title that I'm not going to use is, "I've got Seoul, but I'm not a Soldier", referring to the American military base in Seoul (for all those Killers fans out there). So as you can see, I put a lot of thought into this. If you think you can do better (which shouldn't be too hard), feel free to post your cleverness in the comments section. I'm interested to see what other brains can come up with, just don't make me look too bad.
Seoul. I call it the New York City of Korea. At around 16,000,000, Seoul accounts for about 1/3 of the country's population, and is the 4th largest city in the world behind Tokyo, Jakarta and NYC. For a country that is the size of Indiana, Seoul packs them in pretty tight. There are not many traditional neighborhoods here, or in South Korea for that matter. Land is very valuable, and they maximize its potential value by building vertically. Most everyone lives in apartments, for which there are rows and rows of apartment buildings lined up all across the city. The few traditional houses that I have seen are very old looking, but are in what's considered to be upscale areas of the city. As you can imagine, there's a lot to do in Seoul. Having not visited the "Big Sa-Kwa" (Korean for "Apple") during my whole first month in SK, I have recently taken opportunities to explore Seoul each of the last 3 weekends. I've done something completely different each time I've gone, and I still haven't even visited any of the many temples, palaces, bath houses, museums or parks that Seoul has to offer. My first priority so far has been to sample the various foods in Seoul that I can't find in Ansan. I've yet to visit a Mexican restaurant, but I now know that they exist. I've seen a couple with my own 2 eyes. I've even heard that one of them is actually decent. A good Mexican restaurant in South Korea? I'm not holding my breath. If there is such a thing, I'll be sure to blog about it. The second priority has been to explore the many street markets in and around Seoul. From talking to other English speaking foreigners, I've learned that some markets are known for selling goods for extremely cheap, while other places are known for bargaining. In these places, foreigners can get ripped off really easily if you don't know the value of what you're buying. The best strategy is to go in knowing the basic value for things on the street, such as shirts, pants, sunglasses, hats, shoes, bootleg dvd's, etc. If you know this, then it's only a matter of how much over or under the street value you're willing to pay versus what the vendor is trying to sell it for. I bought that blue jean jacket in the photo for 5 bucks. I didn't know the street value at the time, but I figured it was a pretty good deal, plus I'm kind of 80's like that. Bottom line: deals definitely aren't always too good to be true, and foreigners who can also use a little bit of Korean when bargaining goes a long way.
On future trips into the big city, I think I will focus on trying to find my way around on my own. So far I've followed other people when touring the streets, and it doesn't always help me to pay attention to my surroundings. I've got a worn and weather beaten subway linemap that was handed down to me from a friend. This map is special because it's in English, which you can only find in a few places in the city. I call it my "treasure map", and I feel like Indiana Jones whenever I plot a new course to an unexplored part of the city, or make a written note of a special discovery at a certain station. The fact that it's old and barely held together by scotch tape in the creases makes my imaginings even more credible.
So that's my brief introduction to Seoul. I'm sure I'll have more to write about as I continue to familiarize myself with this Korean metropolis. Seoul isn't where Godzilla always attacks by the way; that's Tokyo, Japan in case you were wondering. I'll be going there soon, so I'll look for him. On a different note, I've been in South Korea for exactly 2 months as of today. The first few weeks felt like months, but now it feels like time's moving a little faster. I'm still trying to take advantage of every opportunity I have to try new things and learn the language and culture, which often leaves me feeling worn out at the end of every day. I always feel tired, and I'm not sure if it's because of poor sleep, diet, lack of exercise, general busyness or a combination of all four. I'm experimenting to remedy this. Although there are many special events related to my friends and family back home that I regret not being able to take part in, I feel like my time spent here is still worthwhile as long as I make the best of every situation. One year doesn't seem impossible anymore.
