A Korean adventure, Mexican Standoffs & Murses.

Anyang Haseo! (from Seoul)

So before I go into some of the more strang things I've seen in Korea, I'm going to give you a peak into our Korean adventure. Natalie and I have had an amazing time in Korea. Each and everyday has been an epic adventure of discovery, curiosity, and amazement. Tuesday, our first full day in Seoul, was no exception.
We began the day by the day by following our stomachs. What better to eat than some good ole' Dunkin' Donuts? The cool thing about being in a different country is that nothing is ever the same, even at Dunkin' Donuts. We go inside, and there are all sorts of interesting pastries from all over the world. There are pastries from India, Greece, Japan, the US, as well as from some other countries. I love the diversity of American franchises in foreign countries! I ended up ordering a Kim-chi croquette and something else. Natalie ended up getting a kiwi something (Okay, so that didn't sound too exciting but it's because I can't remember the name! Still, Kim-chi croquette? I bet you've never tried it.)
Another cool thing about being in a new country is that you are never prepared. At least that's the case for me and Natalie. After breakfast, we went on a scavenger hunt for an international converter plug so that Natalie could use her hair straightener and her blow dryer. This led us to one of the bigger stores in Seoul: Kim's Club. Kim's club is kind of like a mini-walmart. The only difference is that it is vertical. I think it had 5 or 6 stories. Anyways, we head over there only to be disappointed. There is no electronics department at the mini Wal-Mart. On our way from the airport, Natalie had seen an electronics store in the area so we proceeded to walk around looking for one. We finally found one. It ended up being a mini version of best buy. The only difference is that it is vertical. Everything in Korea is vertical! All of the coffee shops are 3 or 4 stories tall. Everything. After a brief exploration of the store, we finally found what we were looking for (of course, with our luck, we ended up buying the wrong thing).
I know that I'm going over insignificant details right now, but I suppose it's because every little experience has been delightful and new to us. I can't help but cherish them. So at this point, we were ready to go explore the city. Everything we have done, we have done so by opening our South Korea book and randomly selecting something to do. Tuesday's pick ended up being the biggest park in Seoul: Namsan Park.
We took the subway to the park, but we ended up going the wrong way. This is prpobably because we didn't know how to follow the signs correctly. So we walk out of the subway, completely lost, and we see something that looks like a big mountain. So what else do we do as curious adventurers? We head towards the mountain. We ended up takling an intricate uphill climb through alleyways filled with little shops and restaurants. It was a lot of fun to be a little lost, letting our feet lead us. We ended up at the foot of the mountain, which ended up being Namsan Park. The rest of the day was spent hiking the mountain. We also took a cable car to the top, which offered an incredible view of Seoul. Seoul is surprisingly beautiful. When walking about the streets, you see a city that is completely urban, filled with neon signs, restaurants, shops, businessmen, stumbling drunks, food carts, taxis, and buses. It is a true sensory overload. However, when overlooking the city, you see a city surrounded by mountains and rivers. The contrast is incredible.
At the top of Namsan park was a very beautiful pathway that led to some very interesting attractions. One of which was an ancient pagoda as well as an ancient signal that was used to alert the country of foreign invaders. The top of Namsan park is the Seoul tower, a teddy bear exhibit, some restaurants, art, and a laser show. We spent most of our evening taking beautiful pictures and enjoying these sights. By the end, we were starving for some food. We proceeded to take the cable car back down and we hiked back down a new intricate set of alleyways.
Unknowingly, we ended up in one of Seoul's biggest shopping districts: Myeong-Dong. Myeong-Dong is one of Seoul's oldest, most popular, and prestigious shopping districts. Natalie and I were definitely not ready for what hit us. For an American, such a shopping is mind blowing. We arrived there at around 10 pm to find masses of people (and by masses I mean, WAY more than you see in any mall on the day before Christmas) shopping their nights away in neon infested alleys filled with the biggest and best brand names in the country. Truly amazing. We proceeded to have dinner and then walk around for a few hours (mouths wide open in awe). What an amazing second day in Seoul! I can't begin to describe how we felt.


The best part about traveling is experiencing some of the differences in the cultures and the people. I've taken note of a couple of my favorite ones. Of course, there are MANY more that I'm sure Natalie will talk about.

#1: the mexican standoff:
A Mexican standoff is a slang term defined as a stalemate or impasse, a confrontation that neither side can win. In popular culture, the Mexican standoff is usually portrayed as two or more opponents with guns drawn and ready, creating a very tense situation.
Wait, Wait, Wait! So who's been in a Mexican standoff? Me, Natalie, and a Korean. By a Korean, I mean every Korean we pass by on the street.
Okay, so I'm exaggerating. No, we haven't drawn our guns in some weird tense moment. It's not like Blondie, Angel Eyes, and Tuco in the Good, The Bad, and The ugly.
What I really mean is that Koreans LOVE to stare. Seriously, we get stared at almost every second. We walk down the street and BAM! A mexican standoff between Natalie, Me, and that Korean. We get stared at whether we're 10 feet away or 1 feet away. We get the up and down, and the double take. Funny stuff. But hey, i've gotten used to it. That's why Natalie and I are fighting back, guns drawn, ready to go. Well, we've been trying to stare back. Unsuccessfully.

#2: The Murse:
Ah the man purse...the combination of Man and Purse. The invincible Murse. To murse or not to murse, that is the question. It's a murse! No, It's a satchel!
Okay, so it seems like every guy carries a murse in Seoul. Okay, so I started writing about murses and I don't know what to write. Everyone carries man purses. Everyone. What do guys put in there? I'm just wondering. So I have to end this blog with a philosophical question? What makes a bag a murse?

Sincerely,
Nikola


Natalie's Post Script: Notice there is only one picture of Nikola and I standing together in front of something. That is how many people I trusted with my camera. Just one. Just one nail.

We also had our first soju experience this night. Soju is the Korean answer to Sake, only I like it way better because it is chilled. Oh and dried squid... I like that too.

k bye.

Sincerely,
Natalie

Our first days in Korea!

Yes! We are finally in Korea, an adventure that has been half a year in the making. The flight was long and we did not get much sleep beforehand. (any actually, we did not sleep!) When we got to the airport surprise surprise I had over packed, but luckily we just bumped a seat up to first class and got way better luggage allowances. Not to mention some lucky individual (ME;)) got to fly first class..Thanks Nikola..<3.. style="">We slept a lot on the flights!

We met MJ in while on layover in Chicago, he will be teaching at my school and is also from Texas! Yay for expatriates!

Korean Air was absolutely awesome. The flight attendants dress like futuristic pop stars and are super nice. We had an authentic Korean meal on the plane called Bibimbap. It was really good considering it was airplane food. The on seats were comfy and there was plenty on flight entertainment to watch.

When we landed the first thing we had to do was get our temperature checked by Korean airport officials wearing facemasks. Basically they were checking to see if we had fevers because of the swine flu scare. There aren't many people in Korean with the 'swine flu' so they are making a huge effort to keep it out. There are plenty of people around Seoul who were facemasks while riding the subway, walking down the street or even while shopping. I have yet to see a designer facemask that I had heard about back in the SARS scare days..

Customs was surprisingly a breeze. Somehow it was 1 million times easier than when I recently encountered the Canadian customs where I was questioned intensely and had my bags searched! One customs officer even told MJ that she learned English at the company where we will all be teaching>> YBM!!

Anyway we got on the bus and headed to Gwangmyeong to meet with administrators from our schools. The scenery was amazing and everything seemed so new shiny and different. Everything has been an experience! When we made it to our stop we were greeted by Mr. Yoon and Justin to take us to our temporary living quarters. That is when the mind trips began. After attempting to make conversation with Justin we soon realized that English speakers were not as easy to come by as we were expecting. And those who do speak English, speak very little. That was mind-trip #1. Mindtrip #2 was the car elevator who rode down with Mr. Yoon and Justin to our officetel. Imagine: a sardine can parking lot on the 5th level, a rather large elevator in one corner of the parking lot, driving into the elevator, and finally reaching the ground floor and driving out onto the street. I know these types of things are common in New York but I have never been in one!

When we made it to our officetel we were greeted by a small one room 'officetel' complete with a queen sized mattress, a washing machine, mini kitchen area with stove top, sink, and fridge, a TV and the restroom. Ahh yes the restroom. That is where we were introduced to mind-trip #3.. Restrooms in apartments do not have any type of dividers for the shower.. So there you are standing in front of the sink and right by the toilet and there is a shower head hanging from the wall, there is a big drain under the sink that it all ends up at.. By now we have become pretty comfortable with this style of shower and actually it keeps everything pretty clean since it is all getting rinsed off every time you shower.

Mind-trip #4 was when we took our first stroll through our temporary neighborhood: Guro Digital Complex. Think: Kayne West's Flashing Lights song. There are neon signs on top of neon sign on top of restaurants on top of Hangul writing on top of who knows what. It's crazy, it is like New York's Times Square only down every rinky dink street and every alley way. There are also a ton of outdoor markets, restaurants, and vendors of all kinds. I haven't seen so many outdoor markets since I was in Europe! Let me tell you it is very alive. So much energy at all times of day and ALL night.

The last substantial mind-trip (#5) of our first day in Seoul was when we had our first meal. We chose the restaurant with the biggest outdoor menu with the biggest possible pictures on it thinking it would be easy to just get inside and start pointing. We walk in a notice that there are dozens of shoes stacked in neat cubbies before you enter the actual restaurant. The tables were about a foot off the ground and there are are little pads to sit on around the tables. (Kind of like the take shoes off room at Kyotos in Austin) This type of seating is VERY common in restaurants here we come to learn over the days. Anyway we do our best to say our hellos and pleasantries, sit down, open the menu and basically see a bunch of dishes that look sorta familiar but in reality we have NO idea what most of it is. So we just randomly chose a couple different soups which ended up being really spicy and eggy. I was delighted by the variety of banchan: tiny side dishes that come with every meal including different types of kimchi! It was good. We were happy.

That was only the flight here and our first night in Seoul. We have had a VERY full and eventful week, and for those that know me well..you know I took a ton of pictures. Tomorrow our quarantine/vacation week is over and we start working..which will be an experience in itself. I have more to post about our first week which I will be posting soon.

Goodnight ya'll!

Sincerely,

Natalie