Just a Little Walk.../저금 산책이에요...

I was hungry and the restaurant I wanted to go to was closed; so I kept walking. I passed a concrete river and kept going. I went through a traditional outdoor market and kept going. Had dumpling soup; kept walking. Passed a memorial site built by of one last kings of the Joseon Dynasty; it was closed so I had to walk around.

Found a film building and struck up a conversation with a gentleman who was exiting. Korea, like China and the UK, have subsidized film industries. We talked and walked. He brought me through KyungHi University. Took me to a international video rental store; wonderful selection. Parted ways, found a Quickly tea store; kept walking and eventually took the subway back.

My 3 minute walk down the street to get dinner turned into a 3 hour adventure. Not bad for a lazy Saturday.

Dinner and a Movie

Wandering around led me into a used video/dvd/manga store. When video rental stores want to get rid of old stock they generally don't use the shelf space and prefer to sell them off to private venders. Most of these end up on used DVD sites and there are a few stores, but are really hard to find. So you can image how excited I was when I bumped into this store.

This store was a buck cheaper than the stores I have been to before; $4 per. Simply said I can get movies for the price of one theater ticket. With opportunities like this it really isn't worth bootlegging.

I took advantage of the situation and uh, got a few movies. Should keep me busy for awhile.

First Complete Conversation

Today marked a milestone in this language learning adventure. I started, held, and finished my first conversation where I didn't need to ask them to repeat anything, slow down, or clarify a word I didn't know. It was short, it was sweet, and it was complete.

I have not had much time to study the 30~50 new vocab words a day; my effort is clearly paying off. Also referencing meeting MiYoung and her boyfriend in which I was not allowed to speak in English for the rest of the night. I understood the jest of almost everything said that night~

Need to work on:
*Vocab
*Speaking and Listening Skills (my pronouncation is good as is my accent). Speed for speaking really.

End of the Week / 집에 있어요

It's Friday, Korean class went well, I can tell I am understanding the language more and being in the beginning class allows me to make connections in the language where I didn't before. Aka it is making more sense.

Lunch with a friend. Nap. Watched TV and went out for my favorite kind of 'twikim' (fried foods). Weather was perfect for a walk. An hour and a half later I was getting kind of tired. And I don't exactly want to walk back that distance right now. Thankfully the subway is still running at this hour and I remembered passing a few stations.

I know how to say it in Chinese, I think I know how to say it in Korean, but either way I'm feeling real comfy~

Language Class at Hanyang Univ.

When I was a student at Yonsei our language class was mainly built from English speaking backgrounds. The Korean-American, the Chinese-Korean-American, the Americans, the Europeans, etc. We would break from class and the default language in the hallway would be English, the true Universal Language.

But here at Hanyang things are different. There are only two or three white guys in the entire program *waves hand* And our class make up is quite interesting:
5 Chinese
5 Mongolians
2 Saudis
1 Indian
1 Japanese
and the Lone American

See how many of these languages you can recognize. The writing is all on the wall. And here is a larger size if you want it.

So when we take a break I hear Chinese to my right, Arabic to my left, and Mongolian across the room. English really won't get you very far in class; Korean truly is the Universal Language here.

Wait, how old am I?

A friend of a friend said to me "Hey, I'm 25 years old also." But one problem, I'm 23 not 25.

Something I have forgotten about is the difference in counting age.

In the US age is counted by the time of birth. A child is 0 years old the moment they exit the womb and the exiting of the womb seems to be the legal definition of being a human being vs being a fetus.

In Korean culture they count the 9 months in the womb as time you existed. Traditionally 100 days after a child is born a large birthday party is celebrated. 9 months + 100 days = 1 year. The child is now 1 year old.

So right there you can find the 1 year age difference. The second year can come in during the Lunar New Year. It is by this holiday that you become one year older. So come October I will be 24-US, 25-Korean and next Lunar New Year I will be 24-US, 26-Korean.

Simple, isn't it? :)

Strange Morning

I slept in today because of a cold that has been coming on. I was trying to do something in Photoshop and got distracted looking for the source of a still image that I found previously. Well this search took me to find the punk rock subculture in Korea. Had a lot of fun and saw some great photos. This guy is wearing a Mashimaro t-shirt, how funny.

Then I came across a Chinese recreation of Adam and Eve(s) but showcasing Eve, the snake, and the apple.

Next a found a character from a TV show, his statue in Spain, and some of his fans.

And last but not least a cat climbing a tree to get a bird. He was unsuccessful. Some sort of news article came out from the pictures.

I seem to only get strange morning like this when I am sick. *Shrugs* And now I need to get ready to meet a friend in Daejon/Taejon. So take care, God bless, and I will post again later.

Busan

This last weekend I took the bullet train down to Busan and met with MiYoung, who I have not seen since she graduated Biola. We had worked as 2-way conversation
partners: I helped her with her English conversation skills and she helped me with my Korean language skills. Having someone use English to teach Korean is a hard thing to do.

Ever stand on the beach in California and just stare off as far as you can see? Ever imagine what is on the other side?

It was fun getting a chance to see MiYoung again, especially since she is getting married in a few months.

Korea is not a big country but has a large population. You can fit 98 South Koreas into Canada. Canada, whose population of 33 million is small compared to the 49 million of South Korea. With that in mind the city of Gimhae is "only 500 thousand people." So you can still feel the small town atmosphere despite the tall apartment buildings. Gimhae is a commuter city that is the long drive of 30 minutes to Busan (distance is all relative folks).

Stayed with MiYoung's older sister and her husband, met all 3 of MiYoung's sisters and her mother at church. Being an Asian culture (think community and think food), Korean church culture means that after the service everyone meets up for a meal. Being one of the 5 or so white foreigners (there are a lot of south-east Asian workers in this city, 2nd largest amount in the country)
I kind of stood out and was introduced 30 or so times. God knows I love to bow, so much fun.

Revelation

Took the level test at HanYang University. Man are my skills rusty. Has it really been four years since Yonsei and formally studying Korean? >_<
However, I was the only non-Asian there. Even if I start at a beginner level it has to be more embarrassing for someone who has expectations to speak their ancestorial language.

You know what, forget it, I'm going to have fun. That is the reason for the trip, I enjoy living here. And now I will have attended language classes at 2 of the top 7 universities in the country. And even outside of class I am learning a ton and making connections within this language.

Fluent or not I can get around, I can get food and all the things that go with it, people are hugely impressed when I utter a single word, and the things that I cannot do God has provided through friends.

Fluent or not this is where God wants me to be and I am going to enjoy it ^_^

Tomorrow morning I am going to Busan to see an old friend. 대~한민국! ㅋㅋㅋ

So That's Where It Is / Fusion

I was an exchange student to Yonsei University a few years back which is rivals with Korea University, who compete with each other for the position of second best university in the country. It is deeply ingrained in Koreans this sense of hierarchy. You can very easily find out that Seoul is the largest city with Busan as the second and Incheon as the third. On Inha University's website they proudly proclaim they are within the top ten list of universities in the country.
With that in mind, Yonsei had a social life outside of the campus that was incredible. Tons of student prices restaurants, Hofs, karaoke rooms, DVD rooms, etc etc. I have been sorely disappointed in Korea University's ability to have such an environment. I live across the street and there are maybe 12 restaurants scattered around and not a single karaoke room in sight.
And then I found it, about half a mile away, tucked down a side street, like walking through the Secret Garden I found the oasis of student restaurants and higher end restaurants. I ate at a chicken restaurant that turned out to be on the higher end. Instead of flagging down a worker to refill your glass, there is a button built into your table that you push. Oh yeah, living it up~
Deciding to go all out, I went to a coffee shop and continued studying my old Korean notes. Coffee shops here are fun. An Iced White Chocolate Mocha is pronouned Icied Whiate Chocoleate Moka in Korean. Coffee shops and American fast food shops have all romanized their menus, making it very easy for folks like myself to know exactly what I am getting.

Korea is like a sponge in terms of culture and language. New items introduced to Korea within the last century have traditionally taken the name from where it was from; radio, television, apartment, coffee, sofa, internet, etc. But it seems that English words are now replacing some current Korean words in terms of usage. Gag (joke), comedy, drama, special, menu, fusion, fighting, and concert are all English words that are becoming Korean.
This should not be a surprise though as Korea has blended it's culture mainly from China and Japan (who was founded by China) as far back as I think it dates.
The English language has done this itself taking words from a large variety of languages; so it is not like it is any different.

Moved In and FedEx

Clothes that were not made for distribution in the US seem to have a bad time going through dryers. By walking around I saw a number of collapse able drying racks. This truly is the answer to putting hooks in the wall to string around clothes line to dry clothes. Purchasing one really made me feel moved in and a bit more permanent than just staying for a short stay.

While on HanYang's campus I saw a FedEx being delivered. Now I know that FedEx truly is international as I sent an overnight to HanYang a few months ago, but to see it with Seoul plates is another thing.

And I've got some cell phone charms again ^^ ㅋㅋ

HanYang University; First Thoughts

I made my way over to HanYang University this afternoon after helping the owner of Crimson House figure out why the internet was working in the building minus the 5th floor. Due to the lack of communication, locked doors, and lack of English signs (the signs saying where the Korean Language Classes are are only written in Korean, this will be kind of hard for people who don't know the Korean alphabet yet). Should work well for immersion. And if the classes turn out to be mediocre I can revert to the vocab lists from Yonsei and can re-buy my old textbooks.

It truly is built on a hill; yet the subway stop is really close to the building I need to go to as are the on campus restaurants. I really don't need to venture uphill very much.

The student ID card works to get into certain buildings, works for the subway, and as a debit card with Shinwha Bank. If I can transfer money from my home back into this account it could make things a lot easier.

Feeling very positive about thins.

The Saga of Sunday

I have been thinking a lot about how I should be writing this entry. There are certain days where it is hard to describe everything that happens; you just can't.

So I wanted to go to church, Saturday night I started the hunt and noticed that they all seem to start 11am or later so, being tired, I went to bed and would finish searching the next morning. I wake up Sunday and there was no internet, so I was stuck with the information that I already had.

Sunday Morning:
Found 2 churches in Itaewon that I wanted to check-out. Neither had directions but that has never stopped me before. Well I get to the right street, and use the phone numbers I have written down; they are both bad numbers. But in my search I found several taco places. I also found an import food store that had Great Start Cereal, Kirkland Signature cheese, Heinz Banana Ketchup from the Philippians (which makes me wonder some of the other 51 flavors Heinz makes), lamb shoulder certified by a mosque in Perth, Australia that it is alright for Muslims in any country to eat, taco shells, flour tortillas, and cell phone cards. And I ended up finding 2 of these stores.

Saw a minivan with an English sign for a church on the side. So I hitched a ride and a few hours later started church in the basement of an old laundry business/machine shop. There was a smell to it, like it was musty, but I didn't pay much attention to it.
Forty-five minutes later I started yawning.
One hour later I was really yawning and found I could no longer breathe through my nose. I was having a reaction of some sort.
I ended up leaving in the middle of worship, just needed to get outside.

Breathing deeply through my mouth it took 30 minutes to be mostly okay. Also two bottles of water and a Gatorade helped. 30 additional minutes and I was fine.

Water Count for the Day: 7 bottles of water, 2 cups of Sprite, 1 thing of iced tea, 1 Gatorade.

When I walk around different areas I tend to go off the main street and into more of the back streets. With Itaewon that is how you find the more interesting stores and the best prices. Well I also found out the reason GIs call it Hooker Hill. Saw a group of about 5 gay guys, really done up on the makeup. I decided to keep a count as I noticed not 1 or 2 women tried to solicit me, but a total of 6.

Found a store I went to with Mike back in 2001 or 2002, brought back memories.

Went to Gyungbok Palace;the biggest palace in the country. It was closed for the day so I took some pictures from the outside and saw they are closed on Tuesdays. The worst thing, the main gate is torn down. I can't understand the signs but seeing what is left of it and the steel structure they are building, it looks like it was taken down to be restrengthened, but seriously, the main gate is torn down. It was so frustrating. There were no dates about when it will return.

Long day and loving it.