This last week Dr. Lim asked me if I wanted to go with him and Jun to a K-League soccer match. I've never been to anything beyond the Northwestern soccer matches, so I thought it'd be a good experience. We took the subway to the SIFC stadium. They were facing a team from Seoul... but they're all from Seoul, just different districts. Anyway, we were rooting for the yellow team.
The game was very interesting. I've been to a few pro-sport games in my lifetime, and they've generally been pretty boring, but last night's game was certainly entertaining. It was nice to only be there for an hour and half, and the action was faced-paced. I basically learned to cheer when everyone else around me did, but I didn't realize that there were people from both teams sitting around me until the game was over. So I was basically cheering for both teams.
The game ended in a last-minute tie. The crowd went crazy; we thought we were going to lose.
Art District
This morning I was planning on going to the Museum of Modern Art, but Dr. Kwon looked up the information and found that it was closed on Mondays! So she told me to go to a subway station, telling me that there were "interesting things there." I hopped on a subway, took the thirty-minute commute, and ended up in an area that looked exactly like every other district I had seen thus far: shopping, eating places, and street vendors.
"Surely she didn't mean for me to come here," I thought to myself. Imagine my surprise (and luck), then, when I met up with an white guy. I asked him if he knew what Dr. Kwon was talking about, and he told me that if I went around the corner I would find a whole street full of stores dedicated to paper and art. I had found the art district of Seoul.
For the next two hours I wandered up and down the streets, looking at all of the galleries and paper stores. It was a great experience; I really enjoyed my afternoon. Below are a few pictures of art that caught my eye.
I couldn't take a picture of this, but I was amazed by one other thing in the art district. There were so many white people. I apparently had also stumbled upon the tourist hot spot of Seoul as well. Even after having been here for less than a week, I still marvel at a white person when I see them.
Speaking of which: I was in the subway yesterday, and in the crowd there were three American girls right behind me. They were talking about how Korean people don't do drugs and how they think Korean boys are cute (woot woot!) and etc. etc. They totally disregarded anyone around them, because they didn't think anyone could understand them. They said some pretty bold things, and when they got off the train they were totally lost. So I turned around and asked them, "Can I help you guys find something?"
Their shock at my (near) flawless English was priceless. haha.
Camera
My camera broke today.
It has always been a little wonky after having apple cider spilled all over it (long story), but today it completely broke down on me. I'm going to try to disassemble it and repair it, but I don't think it's something that I can take care of.
I'm going to have to buy a new one, I fear.
I am put into the tough position of "I should really have a camera, and I have a little extra cash," to "I can't afford another camera, and I should be wise with my money." I'm not sure what I should do...
Dr. Kwon says that I can borrow her camera in the meantime. I'll probably do that while I figure out my next steps. I have some art for you, but I can't take a picture of it!
Final Things
For those of you wondering, I'm doing great. I'm busy, but it is okay. Living in a city is a big adjustment for me, but it isn't the crime-filled environment that I imagined it might be. Sure, I need to be a little more careful, but I can usually walk around without worrying about ending up somewhere that I shouldn't.
Being in a different culture is a little crazy, but I'm trying to adapt. It drives me a little crazy not to be able to understand anything anyone is saying or read basic signs, but I'm getting over it.
Okay, that's all I have for now.
Shalom,
---CJ
2 comments:
I'd have to agree that of spectator sports, soccer's one I enjoy more than several others.
Catching the Americans off-guard cracked me up. And I love your self-portrait in the fourth picture.
Ahhh... Carolyn and Ingrid are back from a (belated) birthday shopping trip to SF. I'll do more catching up with your blogs later.
I'm glad you made it to a futbol game...I didn't get around to that the last time I was in Europe...I'll have to change that in future trips.
As I read about your marvel at white people I immediately associated "white" with "American" and thought about how it sort of reassured me to see American people in the UK and thought it might reassure you to see Americans in Korea. Anyway, the whole time I read the post I was thinking about how you are American and totally disregarded the fact that you aren't white. I laughed at myself.
You're lucky the apple cider camera was salvaged when I was helping Carl clean your room at the end of the year. What a mess.
I miss you.
Post a Comment