Road trip to Gwanju!

First off, a managerial decision. I think I'm gonna make Monday the official 'blog day,' so change your calendars accordingly! Just gives me more time to do cool stuff on Sunday. Or just be lazy on Sunday and not worry about it. I like to keep my options open.

Regardless, it's still kind of a lucky thing you're getting a post today anyway! As between the jambalaya I just made, the beer I just drank, and KDHX streaming...I could be entirely content to just chill out for the rest of the evening. Simple pleasures, and all that.

But! That wouldn't make for a very exciting blog post. So, the obligatory weekend report!

The big deal on my plate was the big seminar on Saturday- it was down in Gwanju, which is about three and a half hours south of Ilsan. And thus, in order to get to the seminar in time, I (along with a bunch of other teachers at my hagwon) woke up at an ungodly hour of the morning so we could pile into a minivan at 5am and make our way southward.

It goes without saying I brought my ipod.

In any case, driving in Korea is about the same as driving in the states- not too much difference, except maybe for the cars on the road. That, and a notable lack of highway patrol. Seriously, in the 8+ hours we were on the road, I think I only saw...two police cars. Both were in Seoul, and one appeared to be pulled over so somebody could take a leak on the side of the highway. For the most part, the drive looked...like this.

Still, it was pretty interesting to see what Korea looks like outside of Seoul. Lots of green mountains and gorgeous little valleys. Each valley had its own little farming community tucked in- no doubt hundreds of years old, as there's only so much arable land to go around in this tiny little country. Here's a typical view.

One thing that surprised me was the rest stops. They were spaced out pretty regularly, which makes sense. However, where rest stops in the states are essentially just bathrooms with vending machines and a visitor's center attatched, in Korea, they're practically strip malls. There'll be a gas station, a convenience store, a small food court, snacks, books, CD's, and all sorts of stuff. Which makes sense, as it doesn't seem like one stops in a town to resupply.

What surprised me even more was on the drive back- we pulled into a rest stop/strip mall to scarf down a quick dinner around 7pm or so...and the place was PACKED. Which struck me as a little odd, as I've always thought of rest stops as being more of a 'getting there' place, as opposed to a destination itself. Then again, maybe all those people were headed somewhere else, just like we were, or...well, I've got no clue, really.

In any case, spending most of my Saturday either in a stuffy minivan or at a less-than-productive (to put it politely) 'training seminar' didn't do wonders for my spirits. Sunday was my typical 'lazy day,'- I slept in, had a beer brunch (Kozel Dark is deliiiiicious) , made a costco run...nothing too crazy. The usual.

I expect next week to be far more interesting, however. As my birthday is coming up very soon (oh holy crap I'm getting old)...and to commemorate the occasion, I think I shall be going on a quest to the BEER CASTLE.

It'll be far more interesting than rest stops, I assure you.

I've been a little more active than I was as of my last posting, but I still haven't gotten to go to any super-cool places as of yet. Work's also been pretty busy (and looks like it shall continue to be so until June), but it's nothing I can't handle.

In any case, on Saturday, I went ahead and braved the rain (which may or may not still be slightly radioactive) to head on down to the HBC festival. Said festival is a thing they have down by the Army base- it's at the same stop as Craftworks, so, y'know, bonus. Though this may be the first time I actually went to that stop WITHOUT going to Craftworks. I feel...vaguely guilty, maybe? Then again, if I did go by, I'm sure it would've been ridiculously crowded.

Mostly because EVERYWHERE was ridiculously crowded. Y'see, HBC is a little neighborhood by the army base- which naturally means it has a ton of expat bars. And so, twice a year, they have a big schindig in which tons and tons of people pile into this little strip and meander around from bar to bar. Said bars each have various musicians playing- though from what I saw (admittedly, a bit early in the evening), most acts consisted of 'guy with a guitar' or 'two guys with guitars.' Which is fine! It's just not exactly a musical showcase. Far more casual vibe. I did, however, discover a beer called 'Red Rock,'- it's made by Cass, and it's surprising amongst Korean beers as it actually...has flavor. It's a halfway decent, semi-hoppy ale. And here I didn't think such a thing was possible from Korean beer!

But again, crowded. Tons of people up and down the street...and they didn't close the road. And as such, there was a steady stream of cars and trucks craaaaawling down the street. It would've been a far better party if they'd closed the road. Then again, I'm not sure how 'official' the festival is.

I headed home fairly early ish (by Seoul standards) so I wouldn't have to worry about missing the last train. Wee.

Sunday was my typical 'lazy day,'- I did some cooking, went for a walk, ran errands, etc. While I was out, I happened to pass by a big TV studio (seriously, it's a block away from my apartment), where they were filming...something. A small crowd of Koreans had gathered to watch, and so my curiosity was peaked (though my laziness won out when it came to going back to my apartment to get my camera).

In any case, some tall guy in a pinstriped suit walked out, which caused a little murmur to go through the crowd, so I'm guessing he's semi popular. It looked as if they were rehearsing a shot- pinstripe suit guy walked through a little group of reporters, and...held up a pair of purple shoes. And then the director would give some more direction through a megaphone, and they'd do it over again. Huh. I didn't stick around to see which take was the best.

Which brings us to today! Again, work. But Mondays aren't so bad, as I've mentioned before. But the real interesting part is what I did AFTER work...namely, I got a haircut (as I rather badly needed one). Surprisingly enough, it wasn't too hard- all I did was print off a picture of a haircut I liked from google images, showed it to the hairstylist, and she did the rest. Really, it wasn't any different from getting a haircut in the states, except for the fact she didn't use the electric clippers very much- and she also dusted the hair clippings off of me with...a foam sponge. Huh.

I suppose the picture's obligatory- even if I hate taking pictures of myself all myspacey like that. Not too bad, though. And cheap, too! Only 7 bucks- or less, given the current exchange rate. Also, I need to comb my hair better, but that's what it looked like after walking home, so wee. I didn't feel like putting any gel or anything in it- especially since I'm gonna take a shower soon.

So yeah. Not really looking forward to this Saturday, as we'll be waking up WAAAAAY too early to head on down to some instructional seminar in Gwanju (which is apparently like 4 hours drive away). I'll even be making a presentation...but it still kinda (and I mean really) sucks to have to lose a Saturday like that. Booo. Though on the bright side, it's not like I need to work every other weekend like some English teachers do. So, uh, look on the bright side?

...I may bring a book.

Still, stay tuned, dear readers! As in the near future, I want to hit up Gyongbokgung, the enormous and restored royal palace that's not horribly far on the subway.

Also, for my birthday, I think I'm going to a BEER CASTLE.

I wouldn't say it's been a 'slow' weekend, so much as one that's not quite blogworthy. Y'see, when I started this blog, I envisioned it as being based on travel/life whatnots. Which is fine! However, I don't think there's anything particularly uniquely Korean about 'I went to a friend of mine's house for a pretty chill little party.' (Or 'I took it easy the next day 'cause I was kind of hungover,' either).

But that's alright! As my sister requested some blog stuff on day-to-day living here in Korea- and so that's what you're gonna get! Hurray for backup plans. And in this case, I'm gonna talk about the most universal of human needs: food.

Besides the language, the food is probably the biggest change to get used to in Korea. I've gotten used to it, though! And don't get me wrong, Korean food can be rather tasty (also: cheap, spicy). But really, Korean food warrants its own blog post. Or several. Or whole blogs by other expats who've more refined palates than I, or...something.

Now, they say it's cheaper to eat out in Korea than it is to cook for yourself. I honestly haven't done the research on such. Still, for about 10 or 11 bucks a head (less, given exchange rates), you can get a really, really good meal on nearly any block in this city. Crappy beer included! However, many resturants are geared towards group dining- so if I'm roaming around on my own (as I often tend to do) I feel more than awkward in sitting down by myself and all that.

And thus, the grocery store! I get most of my food from three particular stores, depending on what's more convenient and/or what I need. 

The first store I often frequent is just a little grocery-mart on the corner. It's nothing fancy, but I go there when I need basic stuff: milk, beer, eggs, some produce, whatever. It's really close, and really cheap, and not much more's to be said about that.

Then there's Homeplus, which is the Korean equivalent to Wal-Mart. The grocery store is on one floor, while the other floors have other stuff. Clothes, toys, DVDs, household stuff, whatever. Including nunchucks.

I really shouldn't be so amused by this. I'm sure any Korean would be floored to see an American Wal-Mart selling guns. Still, it's entertaining. So yeah, Homeplus is pretty decent- and they also have the best beer selection I've been able to find in town.

Finally, there's a place called Kim's Club, which is a little more upscale than Homeplus. Closer, too. Kim's Club actually has a little 'foreign food' corner where one can find various goodies, ranging from Ritz crackers to a single brand of halfway decent tortillas. Kim's Club also has a bigger produce section, which gives them room for a seaweed section. Check it.

So yeah. Despite the language barrier, I've been able to manage pretty well. It's an interesting experience, being fairly illiterate in a given culture. But food is food, and easily identifiable (for the most part), so I do just fine. They've got some labels in English too, so bonus!

Now that I think of it, I could probably stand to learn how to cook seafood. Fish here are fairly cheap. I mean, less than three bucks for a whole squid? I don't know squid prices, but still. That SOUNDS good, right? 

 

As I've mentioned before, it's been a busy, busy last week or so. But busy in a good way! So let's not waste any time and get right to it, shall we?

We had a field trip on May 3rd. Woo! Only...we didn't go to the castle I thought we were going to. Instead, we went and hiked up Ilsan mountain- which makes me kind of glad I hadn't done it before.

Though 'hike' may be a strong word for it- it was uphill, sure...but the path was paved, and it wasn't that far. Which didn't stop some of the other teachers from complaining and getting tired, but I just laughed at them a little bit, 'cause I'm callous like that.

In any case, we all went up the little mountain- the kids brought their parents, too. We proceeded to have a field day sort of thing, where the parents played some silly relay games, the kids went and poked at nature-y things, and otherwise folks had a good time. Not a bad way to spend a Tuesday, I must say.

Then, on Thursday, I had a proper day off! It was a Korean holiday called Children's Day- a day where kids get to stay home from school and get presents and such. The weather was absolutely gorgeous, so I cleaned myself up a bit and went out and about. There was something big going down over at the local park- lots of vendor's stalls (at least a third of which were selling plants), TONS of people, and otherwise a big ol event.

So after bouncing around the Children's day activities for awhile, I decided I didn't wanna go back to my apartment just yet- so I headed on over to the movie theatre at the mall by my house, at which point I saw Thor. Or "Tor," in Korean, as they don't really have a 'th' sound.

In any case, seeing a movie in Korea is about the same as seeing it in the US- just, y'know, with Korean subtitles at the bottom. That, and when you buy a ticket, you have an assigned seat number, like at a play or an opera or something.

A lot of the big action movies come out in Korea before the US. Neat! There'll be no problem seeing the big blockbusters over here (I'm particularly stoked for Captain America in July, and the new X-men movie looks promising), but if I want to see something obscure and grindhousey like Hobo With a Shotgun, I'm on my own.

I suppose it makes sense, though, as back in the states, most of the Asian flicks (Chinese, Japanese, or Korean) I tended to watch were big action movies. Or, well, more obscure action movies as time went on, but you get the idea. People getting kicked in the head tends to translate well. Though it's funny, as the English-language radio station I listen to all the time sometimes runs commercials saying "You know, there are Korean movies besides Oldboy out there."

Moving on, Saturday was a fun day! I once again met up with my cousin (and my other cousin, who was still in town) and a friend of ours, and we bounced around Insadong in the afternoon. Insadong is a very popular (some might say touristy) neighborhood for 'traditional' Korean art and such. Lots of antique/souvenir shops, lots of art galleries- fun stuff! 

Of course, it's pretty well developed- the main drag is pretty much an outdoor mall- even if the Starbucks and other chain stores have their signs written in hangul for a more 'traditional' look. It gets more interesting once you start getting into the various side alleys, however.

I also managed to stumble across what I guess was some sort of toy museum- lots and lots of pop culture epherma. Kinda like the Sci Fi lounge in St. Louis (if not nearly as cool). Just goes to show my talent for finding the nerdiest corner of any given location.

Insadogn gets more interesting when you get into the narrow side alleys and such. We had a late lunch/early dinner at a little dumpling resturant, and damn if it wasn't absolutely delicious. I also made it a point to get some bamboo wine there, as, well, I've never had it before!

 

Fairly decent- tasted like a sweet white wine. Hints of apple, even. Coolest part was it coming in a bamboo tube, I'd say.

So after lunch, we bounced around a little bit more, and went to Jogyesa temple- it's the main Buddhist temple in Seoul, and it was all lit up and ready for the Lantern Festival. I snapped a couple of pictures- but I'm sure a little bit of googling will find far better pics by far better photographers than I.

The Lantern Festival concludes with a Lantern Parade, which is a really fun sort of spectacle. Instead of floats like in a western parade, they had big light-up lanterns on wheels- some of which were really impressive. My favorite was a lantern of a turtle ship that shot bursts of fire from its cannons- unfortunately, I wasn't able to get a good picture of it. Curses! Have some other pics instead.

So we wrapped it up early...ish, and I caught the train back home. Last few days have been rather uneventful in comparison. I've got today off too, on account of Buddha's birthday...but it's kinda gloomy and grey out, so I don't think I'll be going out tonight. Though I did head into Seoul earlier- I had some absolutely delicious ribs for lunch with my cousin and my other cousin before she hopped the train to the airport. Just taking the time now to catch up on the blog posting and otherwise take it easy- I've got some other stuff to do if I'm feeling ambitious, but nothing else of note.

Though after all these holidays and field trips and such, I've been spoiled- soon enough, I'm gonna have to get back to a regular work week! Pity.

I came to the realization about a week or so ago that I've been in Korea for TWO months now. Crazy. As I've mentioned before, it can be easy to get into a routine- too easy, I fear, as that would make for a fairly boring blog. But! Thankfully, things are picking up.

Next week, for example, is going to be super cool. Observe:

Monday: Typical Monday...which means I don't have too many classes to teach. Neato!

Tuesday: Field trip! Going to some castle/fortress sort of place. I'm really looking forward to this.

Wednesday: Regular day. Meh!

Thursday: Day off, woo! It's a Korean holiday known as 'Children's Day.' Dunno what I'll be doing then, but I'm sure I'll find something fun.

Friday: Okay, so it'll be the busiest day of the week, as my Fridays usually are. But I will endure!

Not to mention my cousin's (rather, my cousin in-Seoul's sister) flown into town! So we will definitely have to hang out and have various misadventures. Good times.

Speaking of misadventures, I've not been idle!

For one, my sister sent me a care package for Easter, and it is wonderful. Candy! Comic books! Cans of Steak & Shake chili! Always a highlight of my day when I get cool stuff in the mail. I've been rationing the comic books- I've only read two so far, but they've both been pretty good. I'm just a little afraid I may get a couple of chapters into this 'Age of X' event Marvel's got going on, and then have to wait a long, long time 'til I can find out how it concludes. (Or at least 'til I can read spoilers on wikipedia). Then again, that fanboyish wait is part of the fun!

Saturday was pretty wet and miserable, weather wise- but I didn't let this deter me! I made a quick trip to the grocery store- where, in addition to picking up food, I also grabbed a couple of other things to make my apartment a little more liveable. A pearing knife, a jar to put change in, a mouse pad, one of those grip-exerciser squeezy things- trivial, cheap things...but somehow making use of them seems to make the apartment feel a little less like a dorm room. It probably helped that I also took the rainy day as an opportunity to clean up a little bit- sure, the place is still cluttered, and the TV is still on the floor, but it's at least better than what it was?

Of course, with the weather as it was, I aaaaaalmost didn't go out on Saturday night. It wasn't quite driving down in sheets, but it was enough to give me pause. Ultimately, I powered through, and went on down to Hongdae. After all, I had waterproof boots and a water-repellent fleece jacket to help me endure the elements.

I'm glad I did.

I went to a place called V-Hall- it's an honestly HUGE venue, considering the location. It's not as big as, say, the Pageant, but it was surprisingly big. Maybe about the size of a small school gymnasium? Hardly the kind of place you'd expect to find three floors underneath the streets of Hongdae. The crowd was...I dunno, maybe a quarter, a third of the crowd was expats? Possibly more- it was dark, and I tended to pay more attention to the band.

Adding to the sense of the size of the place, there weren't any chairs or tables or anything- just a stage at one end of the room, and some bleacher seats in the back. The walls were lined with lockers, which seemed like a good idea...but other than that, there wasn't much to give the room a sense of character like you'd find in other venues.

Also, the only alcohol available was Cass. On tap. Huh. The bartender (an American girl, it's worth noting) also said I looked like 'That guy from the Big Bang Theory.' Johnny Galeki, that is. I guess that's a compliment?

Unfortunately, I got there a little late, so I missed Kingston Rudieska. I'm not too tore up about it, however, as I've seen them before- and I'll likely see them again.

Oh, and I'd like to apologize in advance for the crappy pictures- it was dark, and the musicians were usually in motion. That, and I'm a crappy photographer. I should probably work on that.

The next act was a special guest: Conny from Japan (the 'from Japan part was how everyone kept referring to her, so I feel obligated to do so as well). She had the Rocktigers (well, most of them, more on that later) playing for her...and while I couldn't tell what she was singing (my Japanese is worse than my Korean), she still had a damn good set of pipes on her. She played a relatively short set, but it was enjoyable nonetheless.

Next up was a Korean band called Lowdown 30. They had a pretty interesting sound- kind of a delta blues/grunge rock mashup. Musically, they were really good- but I think their vocals could use a little work. Maybe the Korean accent just doesn't lend itself well to blues-style growling? Still, I've seen worse.

Then? It was time for the main event! The Rocktigers. Korean Rockabilly- or Kimchiabilly, as they describe themselves. And damn if it wasn't a great show. They have a great sound- and their live performance is even better. Velvet Geena, the singer, really knows how to work a crowd. And damn if she doesn't work HARD at it, too. She was always in motion, going back and forth- whenever she wasn't singing, she was goading the crowd- often thrusting her microphone stand into the crowd like a pike so everyone else could sing along.

It was pretty fun, seeing a style of music with such deep roots in American culture filtered through another culture. Heck, they even brought a guest fiddle player for "Come Back," which I realized was basically an old-style country song.

So yeah. Great show! Probably the best I've seen in Korea, but that's not a fair comparison, given I've only seen one other show here. Still, a couple of observations nonetheless:

1) Less Merch. The Rocktigers had one T-shirt, one CD, and a towel with their logo on it for sale. Conny from Japan had a CD and a T-shirt. That's it. I guess I'm just used to bands having a bigger variety of stuff- or at least the headliners tend to. Maybe the Rocktigers just operate on a really small scale? Who knows.

2) Less rowdiness. This might be the biggest thing that caught my attention. At least, less rowdiness from the crowd. Very little moshing, and no crowd surfing, either. There was a little group jumping around and dancing and such (I joined them, of course). I guess I would've expected a little more of a commotion at a show back home. Said commotion's not even a bad thing, mind you! A good pit can be a surprisingly friendly place to be, if the people inside know what they're doing and aren't dicks about it. Again, maybe I'm kinda spoiled.

3) Earlier shows. The show started at 7:00, and wrapped up at about 10:15. Admittedly, I rabbited out the door once they brought the house lights up after the Encore, but still. I really can't complain, as it allowed me to catch the train home. Not that all shows are like this- the ska/punk show I hit up last month went 'til...well, some ungodly hour of the morning, I'm sure. I guess I'm just too used to staying up later when I saw shows in St. Louis.

Still, being able to make it home and get a proper night's sleep certainly isn't something to complain about!

Which brings us to Sunday, today! A friend of mine had set up a picnic at Banpo park via facebook, and so I went ahead and went. My cousins did too, so it was really nice to see them. Banpo Park is a little strip of greenery on the south side of the Han River...it was, well, alright. Really, the fun was in getting to hang out with a bunch of other expats. Have some cheese and baguettes, drink some drinks, and otherwise be sociable. Certainly more interesting than just roaming around Ilsan, at least!

Don't worry. We cleaned it up. Eventually.

Which brings us to...well, now. And despite having a picnic lunch, I was still kind of hungry. Mostly because everyone had brought fairly light foods and snacks (I myself contributed some Girl Scout cookies, which were quite popular), but not quite enough to constitute a proper meal.

Which is why I took some of the chili my sister sent me...and I created THIS.

 

 

Yes, that is a homemade slinger. For those not in the know, it consists of:

Cheese on top of Chili, on top of a fried egg, on top of a hamburger patty, on top of some hashbrowns. It is a monstrosity of deliciousness. And I ate it ALL.

Diner food is surprisingly easy to make- which, admittedly, is kind of the point. Sure, there isn't the same ambiance as hitting up a smoky diner at some ungodly hour of the morning, but there's not much to be done about that now, is there?

In any case, stay tuned! I'll probably be posting a field trip report before too long.