from my apartment window, 5:30am
Friday, September 30, 2011
Seoul Snapshot #4: Sunrise
As the days grow shorter, my 5:30am rising is met with daybreak. I never quite appreciate sunrises as much as I do sunsets--because as a west coast girl myself, sunsets over the pacific were just stunning--but that doesn't mean they are any less lovely.
from my apartment window, 5:30am
from my apartment window, 5:30am
Thursday, September 29, 2011
Meeting Mr. Ideal
I recently acquired a new language exchange partner.
A new one, you ask. Another one?
I will save that drama for another day, but basically my previous language partner and I broke up (haha) because his girlfriend was crazy trippin. I was angry and upset, because at the end of the day, he was a great korean teacher, and I was at such a loss when we separated. At that point, I wasn't taking classes any longer, and was now without even a weekly language exchange.
For weeks I self-studied and toyed with the idea of getting a new partner, but it just seemed like SUCH a hassle. My inbox was filled with messages from people who were seeking language partners, and again, it was extremely overwhelming having to sort through all these messages only to get new ones daily.
And then there was the nagging annoyance of whether I would risk getting another male language partner. First of all, there wasn't a guarentee that a guy was really seeking a language partner, or a girlfriend. Second of all, even if he did want to learn english, who is to say that he wouldn't have some cray cray gf waiting in the wings and I'd have a repeat of what happened last time.
On the other hand, was I really going to be petty enough to let something like that stop me from getting a quality language partner? To be honest, I wasn't initally thrilled with the people who were messaging, and even less so with the girls who were messaging me. Many of them just wanted a foreigner friend, and listed their qualifications as being a native Korean speaker.
Right, because native speakers are always qualified to teach their native language.
Finally, on monday I decided I needed to buck up and just pick one. I made lists, I threw out immediate rejects-- "I really like beer" "Let's go to a jjimjilbang together"--and had even contacted a few of them.
And then, right when I was on the verge of settling on this Vet, I get this message from this guy with an interesting english name: Jasper. His message was good & his qualifications were fine, and I was about to sort him in my top 5 candidates...when he wrote a post script:
I mean, how could I turn that down?
We met yesterday, and I kid you not, my heart nearly burst in my chest. It was so strange to me, considering what a naturally anxious person I am, that I wasn't nervous at all prior to meeting. Juxtapose that against the first time I met my first language partner, where I was all butterflies and jitters and shakey like a small dog standing in a cool breeze heh.
I was ridiculously late, but we met at a starbucks and he came around the corner from where he was waiting for me, and it was like, a choir of angels or something began singing. We shook hands, I apologized for being so late, and he bought me a coffee.
I picked up on his british accent right away--due primarily from his study abroad--and I nearly swooned. A korean guy with a british accent. A tall korean guy from a good school with a good job with a british accent. Who loves soccer and who doesn't call it soccer but rather football like a proper british guy. And who doesn't call the subway, "subway" but rather "underground" like a proper british guy. And who throws around the word "lovely" in the same context that I do. And who has western style manners (which I miss more than I can say!).
He's like a mix of all my favorite things, and I sat there, wondering if he was real.
Like, I didn't ever think I would meet someone who, on the surface at least, fufilled all of my superficial "Ideal Guy" qualifications.
Needless to say, I was absolutely stunned.
I told him about how I felt like I was in a rut learning Korean, how things had ended previously with my old partner, and how I'm starting classes again on monday. He mentioned that he wasn't married, but that the ring on his left hand ring finger was, in fact, a couple ring. I felt a pang of disappointment, but also relief that at least he wasn't married! WHAT AM I?
He asked if we could meet twice a week, and gutton for punishment that I am, I agreed. We talked about our shared love of football, and made vague plans to go watch a match together. He saw me to the subway turn stalls, and I melted away the moment that I was beyond his gaze.
I am in so much trouble.
A new one, you ask. Another one?
I will save that drama for another day, but basically my previous language partner and I broke up (haha) because his girlfriend was crazy trippin. I was angry and upset, because at the end of the day, he was a great korean teacher, and I was at such a loss when we separated. At that point, I wasn't taking classes any longer, and was now without even a weekly language exchange.
For weeks I self-studied and toyed with the idea of getting a new partner, but it just seemed like SUCH a hassle. My inbox was filled with messages from people who were seeking language partners, and again, it was extremely overwhelming having to sort through all these messages only to get new ones daily.
And then there was the nagging annoyance of whether I would risk getting another male language partner. First of all, there wasn't a guarentee that a guy was really seeking a language partner, or a girlfriend. Second of all, even if he did want to learn english, who is to say that he wouldn't have some cray cray gf waiting in the wings and I'd have a repeat of what happened last time.
On the other hand, was I really going to be petty enough to let something like that stop me from getting a quality language partner? To be honest, I wasn't initally thrilled with the people who were messaging, and even less so with the girls who were messaging me. Many of them just wanted a foreigner friend, and listed their qualifications as being a native Korean speaker.
Right, because native speakers are always qualified to teach their native language.
Finally, on monday I decided I needed to buck up and just pick one. I made lists, I threw out immediate rejects-- "I really like beer" "Let's go to a jjimjilbang together"--and had even contacted a few of them.
And then, right when I was on the verge of settling on this Vet, I get this message from this guy with an interesting english name: Jasper. His message was good & his qualifications were fine, and I was about to sort him in my top 5 candidates...when he wrote a post script:
PS. I know that some male Koreans want to have relations other than
language exchange. I tried to qualify myself by showing some of my
information though it doesn't prove a man 100%. please don't mind
it.
I mean, how could I turn that down?
We met yesterday, and I kid you not, my heart nearly burst in my chest. It was so strange to me, considering what a naturally anxious person I am, that I wasn't nervous at all prior to meeting. Juxtapose that against the first time I met my first language partner, where I was all butterflies and jitters and shakey like a small dog standing in a cool breeze heh.
I was ridiculously late, but we met at a starbucks and he came around the corner from where he was waiting for me, and it was like, a choir of angels or something began singing. We shook hands, I apologized for being so late, and he bought me a coffee.
I picked up on his british accent right away--due primarily from his study abroad--and I nearly swooned. A korean guy with a british accent. A tall korean guy from a good school with a good job with a british accent. Who loves soccer and who doesn't call it soccer but rather football like a proper british guy. And who doesn't call the subway, "subway" but rather "underground" like a proper british guy. And who throws around the word "lovely" in the same context that I do. And who has western style manners (which I miss more than I can say!).
He's like a mix of all my favorite things, and I sat there, wondering if he was real.
Like, I didn't ever think I would meet someone who, on the surface at least, fufilled all of my superficial "Ideal Guy" qualifications.
Needless to say, I was absolutely stunned.
I told him about how I felt like I was in a rut learning Korean, how things had ended previously with my old partner, and how I'm starting classes again on monday. He mentioned that he wasn't married, but that the ring on his left hand ring finger was, in fact, a couple ring. I felt a pang of disappointment, but also relief that at least he wasn't married! WHAT AM I?
He asked if we could meet twice a week, and gutton for punishment that I am, I agreed. We talked about our shared love of football, and made vague plans to go watch a match together. He saw me to the subway turn stalls, and I melted away the moment that I was beyond his gaze.
I am in so much trouble.
Wednesday, September 28, 2011
Victory (FC) Seoul!!
This past weekend there was a special event held by FC Seoul for foreigners. The event was to come watch a match (against Daejeon), for a reduced ticket price, including food, and other festivities like live performances. The event was quickly spread around among foreigners in Seoul, and come game day, there were a TON of foreigners acting the fool in the subways and crowding around World Cup Stadium.
Being the soccer enthusiast that I sometimes am, I couldn't pass this event up! I braved the masses of foreigners, sometimes--often--experiencing second hand embarrassment because of them, and went to my very first football match in Korea.
승리 서울!!
Ready to get my cheer on!
My heart went ba-dump at the sight of the pitch. Game time!
The results: FC seoul 4: Daejeon 1
I think I have a new club to watch! :)
Being the soccer enthusiast that I sometimes am, I couldn't pass this event up! I braved the masses of foreigners, sometimes--often--experiencing second hand embarrassment because of them, and went to my very first football match in Korea.
승리 서울!!
Ready to get my cheer on!
My heart went ba-dump at the sight of the pitch. Game time!The results: FC seoul 4: Daejeon 1
I think I have a new club to watch! :)
Tuesday, September 27, 2011
Things I Really Love About Korea
- public transportation
- not paying sales tax
- korean food
- korean children
- Big Bang lives here
- easy access to other asian countries
- coffee shops! so many so cute, many independent :)
- night views of Seoul
- health coverage
Sunday, September 25, 2011
Things I Miss About Home
- Mexican food
- Mild weather
- Sephora
- Easy access to the beach
- Driving
- Not being charged an atm fee at my own bank
- Being able to use my macbook to navigate all websites
- Stores that carry my shoe size readily
- a clothes dryer
- a garbage disposer attached to my sink drain
- Friends (and family)
Saturday, September 17, 2011
Being Korean in Japan: Tokyo
This past week I had 5 days of vacation due to Chuseok (추석), or the Korean Thanksgiving holiday. A friend and I headed east towards Japan, visiting Tokyo and Kyoto.
My first impression of Japan/Tokyo is just how much more cleaner it is than Seoul. And everything seems much more orderly/symmetrical/organized than it does in Seoul. Oh, and that the city has more green spaces. And that the air quality to better.
Imperial Palace and the outer gardens. Doesn't quite look like Japan, right?
This was interesting. Very western styled buildings in the very modern downtown area of Tokyo.
Hand and mouth cleansing before entering temple...
acting the tourist.
Taking pictures and drawing things on it. Awesome and fun!
the ever popular Shibuya Crossing...
Hachiko statue with a Doggy under it!! Cutest!! :)
BAM! Tableside grilling :)I realized on this trip how "korean" I had become during the almost 7 months I've been here in Korea. On the trip, someone called me and my friend "so Korean" which was interesting, and then there was the fact that I was speaking Korean to everyone haha.
Tokyo is such a big, interesting, vibrant place. So much to see and do and just experience. But I didn't only stay in Tokyo... but that's for the next post!
Tuesday, September 13, 2011
Seoul Snapshot #3: Cheonggyecheon
Cheonggyecheon (청계천) is a stream that runs across downtown Seoul. The stream, which has a history of going back to the Joseon Dynasty, underwent a major renewal to become the popular green space that it is today.
Sunday, September 11, 2011
Friday, September 9, 2011
Samcheok 2: To the cave, Batman!
Morning, Samcheok.
We headed up to the mountains to do some hiking and explore this giant limestone cave, Hwanseongul.
ready to go!
entrance.
You can hike up to the cave entrance, or you can take a monorail up. We decided to hike, because when you are surrounded by this beauty, how can you not?
There was a steep incline that had us gasping for breath.
okay, this^ is something that I always saw on Korean dramas when someone would go to the mountainside: drinking water coming out of a rock! and then there are those spoons where you just scoop some water up and drink it to refresh yourself. a natural drinking fountain! and the water was so cold and crisp! (I tried not to think of the germs on the communal spoon)
Entrance to the cave.
I didn't take any pictures inside the cave, one because I have a crappy camera and two because there was a sign saying not to take pictures, although there were some foreigners who were taking pictures everywhere inside.
The cave is amazingly HUGE. It takes a whole hour to go around the whole thing. The best thing about the cave though, was the names of the different bridges, chambers, and passes: Summit of Hope, Palace of Dreams, Magic Wand, Valley of Desire, Bridge of Confessions, etc.
Bridge of Confessions was my favorite because it looked like something out of Indiana Jones, the ride, but then you look down between the planks at your feet and your see nothingness. The darkness of the cave extends below your feet for an unknown distance and all that is keeping you alive is this rickey old wooden bridge. Needless to say, we sprinted like made across that bridge!
The bus ride back? 7 hours! My bladder was going to explode. BUT, Samcheok was exactly what I needed to recharge my batteries :)
Tuesday, September 6, 2011
Samcheok 1: Feels like Home
Last weekend with friends Julie and Olivia in tow, we left the concrete jungle that is Seoul and headed east towards the East Sea (Donghae, 동해) to a little slice of heaven called Samcheok (삼척).
The first meal of the day, a fish soup called Gomchigook (곰치국)-- 곰치 is a kind of fish and 국 is soup. I adore seafood and since we were right by the ocean I thought this soup had to be delicious. Like, there would be some sort of heinous injustice if it turned out to be anything other than tasty.
Turns out that there both that fish and that soup suffered a cosmic injustice. That fish because it was just unfortunately ugly. That soup because the texture of the fish was something akin to jelly--and I could not for the life of me appreciate it.
I love you Samcheok, I really do.
When we stood out on the shoreline, my friend olivia turned to me and said, "you stare at the ocean like its full of memories." I am, at heart, a girl raised by the sea.
Me and Julie in our couple seats...
Poor Olivia in the nice and spacious solo seat
The bus ride was supposed to take something like 3 hours to get Samcheok. In reality, it took 4 hours, in which the 3 of us alternately ate, slept, and stared out of the window.
But when we arrived at Samcheok, this is what awaited us <3
Turns out that there both that fish and that soup suffered a cosmic injustice. That fish because it was just unfortunately ugly. That soup because the texture of the fish was something akin to jelly--and I could not for the life of me appreciate it.
We spent the rest of the day along the strip of beach, played in the waves, played soccer/volleyball with a kid's abandoned ball, and ate snacks while drinking makgeolli (막걸리)--korean rice wine.
I love you Samcheok, I really do.
When we stood out on the shoreline, my friend olivia turned to me and said, "you stare at the ocean like its full of memories." I am, at heart, a girl raised by the sea.
Saturday, September 3, 2011
Seoul Snapshot #2: Samcheongdong
Samcheongdong (산청동) is my favorite place in Seoul for its mix of modern and traditional, and for all the cute cafes it has. The other day while I was with a co-teacher, we stumbled across this little road and it was quite the beauty.
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