August 2009

The flight to China was fine and relatively uneventful. They fed us a breakfast of fried rice and a brownie. I thought I’d sleep but didn’t.

The Beijing airport made us long for the ease of Incheon. After disembarkation (I’ve been wanting to use that word for a while), we all waited and waited behind a quarantine line. This was similar to when we got to Incheon on the day of our arrival and had our temperatures taken. However, no one seemed to be paying attention to us at all.

While we were standing there, a short, young guy came up and asked me at what hostel I was staying. I explained a little about what was happening, and this friendly, yet loquacious man, talked my ear off. He was from Canada and just graduated from college and was teaching English for a year in Seoul to get money to pay off student loans. The trip to Korea was the first country other than Canada, and his trip to China marked a third country. He asked another group in front of us what hostel they were going to, and they too were not going to a hostel. I suggested asking people in the taxi line. He said that was a good idea.

Finally we were led through the gates to a place that put a universal stamp that said my temperature was 37 degrees Celsius. Then I had to carry the sheet of paper to another person waiting at the end of the corridor. Then we waited in line for immigration. I was originally in line with Dad and YK (Hyun got held up), but then I bailed for another line. Then the race was on. Their line was shorter but denser, while my line was longer but had fewer people. In the end, I won. You were given the option of pushing a button to rate the screener at the end of the screening. I pushed the excellent button. YK pushed the slow button.

There was no Customs in the airport, which struck us all as odd.

We were picked up at the airport by a man named Xuesong. I had not met him before, but he and his wife Aihua are partners of campwww. Xuesong drove us to the apartment that was no longer an apartment. Apparently, two weeks before, YK had made a reservation for a three bedroom apartment. Two weeks later, the apartment complex was now a hotel. So, instead of a three bedroom apartment with a kitchen and laundry facilities, we were offered a two bedroom and an office. However, they were really pressing to give us a two bedroom without an office. We took it, so Hyun and I are roommates.

The hotel room is on the 17^th floor, but the view is no where near as nice as the view in Seoul. The area is not as nice and it is surrounded by high rise apartment buildings, but also, the air in Beijing is grey. It’s like the city is covered in a haze. It’s not quite fog or clouds, because you can see both move, but it’s just grey. Also, Beijing is warm. Not as hot as Seoul, but close to hot.

The cool thing about this hotel building is that it is one of the host places of The FISM World Championships of Magic. Yes, we are surrounded by magicians. Even if they aren’t magicians, they are to us. It has been a reoccurring joke that if someone is late or missing, a magician made them disappear.

We got settled in the hotel room, and picked Aihua up on the side of the road to go to lunch. Lunch was at a modern Chinese place. We had a feast of sweet and sour shrimp, and just when I thought I couldn’t eat anymore, Aihua ordered three different types of mandu. It was a great welcome to Beijing. Since then, YK has to keep telling them not to order too much.

Stuffed, we were dropped off around the corner at a little thing called “The Bird’s Nest”. Yes, the Olympic stadium was right around the corner from our hotel. We walked back after we toured the area. Dad took this great picture of me, The Bird’s Nest, and a random Chinese man.

Xuesong and Aihua picked us up after a break and took us to an excellent dinner spot known for meat on sticks. We had plenty of meat on sticks. The three men had one kind, while the three women had another. There was also great lamb and good old Chinese whiskey with dinner.

When I was in China last, Yanji to be particular, I had a massage. I have been looking forward to getting massages in China ever since. So, when Xuesong and Aihua gave us the option of going somewhere to drink more or get foot massages, the latter option was the obvious choice.

The six of us were taken to a room of six lounge chairs. At the end of the room was a giant TV and sound system. I never did find out why that was there. Each chair felt like a cloud and the softness, the full bellies, and the whiskey helped us relax easily. The three women had male masseurs and the three men had female masseuses. After they removed a portion of our couches, a sink was reveled where our feet were washed with herbs. Then the others started to get a suction treatment. Each therapist had a big cotton swab that was on fire. They put a very little bowl, like a mini fishbowl, and then the bowl was quickly put on the bottom of the foot and moved around. My guess is that the fire burned the oxygen, which created the suction. It was interesting to watch.

When I heard we were getting foot massages I was very excited because I was sure he was going to appreciate my somewhat new pedicure. Instead, while the others were getting this suction treatment, he was unhappy with the bottom of my feet and took out a razor and started going to town on the bottom of my feet. It didn’t hurt, but you would be amazed at how much he chopped off. It was a tad embarrassing, but then he started doing it to Aihua’s feet too.

Eventually, I got to the suction part. The suction was followed by the rubbing and massaging of our feet and legs. Some parts were really painful, but it was wonderful. Pretty soon Dad was asleep and snoring. The massage was great. Just when I thought it was done, we turned around and sat cross-legged and got back massages. It was pampering at its best.

This picture below was the sign for the place. The big yellow symbol is actually the Chinese character for feet, but they have added a smiley face and made the bottom of the character feet as well. Very clever.

 

Beijing Diaries(1) (2) (3) (4) (5) (6)

July 2009

Monday evening started as a get-together and ended up being a party. After my last writing, I went out to talk to YK and Dad, and they said, “Jamyung is coming in 15 minutes”. So much for a nap. In fact, no one had a nap on Monday, and we were suffering because of it.

So, it started with Dad, YK, Jasmine, Kathy, Hyun, and I, but soon the Seed Doctor, JM, Euigyoo, Hyngji, Eunkyung, Ahnsook, and Professor Chan Park, not necessarily in that order, all showed up. Jamyong and Euigyoo are longtime friends and I spent some time with their daughter Hyangji the last time I was in Korea. Jamyong and Euigyoo came with 10 bottles of soju and 10 bottles of maekju (beer) and a watermelon and introduced to me so-maek, a shot of soju in a glass of beer. No, the watermelon was not in so-maek, but it made for a good snack. At one point in the evening, after many bottles of soju were emptied, someone looked in the refrigerator and counted the remaining bottles. There were 9 full bottles left. Someone called it a miracle.

Since we did not really have a dinner, YK and Dad went on a quick run around and came back with a myriad of snack to serve as dinner. It was “sel-pu”  or help yourself to whatever we have. They also got a lot of ramen, because everyone likes ramen when they have been drinking. Hyunji mentioned that the spread was similar to camping. I think she was led to believe that her parents’ friends were taking her out to a nice dinner.

In Insadong earlier in the trip, I bought for YK and me a splat pig. Through some mystery of modern science, these small water-filled hand-sized toys splat against things and then reform. This apartment is perfect for it because the pig can splat against the walls, floor, ceiling, and the windows. As the imbibing continued, my pig made an appearance, and everyone marveled at its skills. YK and I took a liking to the particular splat of the pig against the window. Euigyoo, waiting his turn patiently, grabbed the splat pig and threw it against the window and it EXPLODED. Water went everywhere. Everyone laughed and Eigyoo felt terrible. It was totally worth 1000 won (80 cents).

At one point, Eunkyung, a friend of Jamyong and Euigyoo’s, disappeared into the kitchen and made a full pot of kimchi soup with all the camp snacks. Then, someone wanted ramen, and she again made another pot of soup with whatever she could find in the sparse kitchen. I think she continued doing this throughout the evening, and knowing how different the foods were and how little there was to actually make a cohesive meal, I am convinced she is a food wizard.

This all started a 5 PM, and Dad dipped away to take a nap and come back to join in the festivities. I hung on until 11, too soon after Professor Park and Ahnsook came, when I had to excuse myself and go to bed. I think they continued until midnight when everyone left and/or went to bed. Good times with good people.

 

 

July 2009

Tuesday started with a walk to Insadong and lunch at a place known for its use of fresh herbs in their cooking(closed). When we entered, there were several very large bottles of herbs soaking in different liquids. Most were probably drinks. Also, for those of you that are not familiar with Korean food, most of these places give us a ton of little plates filled with all sorts of things. Some of these little plates are beginning to look familiar. Others are not. Others look familiar, but they aren’t after I taste them. Most are reddish, but the level of spiciness varies. I have a great picture of the little dish phenomena coming up on Friday’s post. We left stuffed.

After a walk back to the apartment, we were picked up by the businessmen, with whom we are here to work. They took us to an English Village, where children go for a full week at a time, overnight and everything, to learn English. We were given a tour, and it looked like a fabulous facility, but there are some problems with the Village. First of all, there is no curriculum. The Village has many different areas to facilitate English speaking scenarios like “Immigration”, “New York Street”, or “News Station”. However, because the areas are so specific, the lessons are limited to the environment in which they take place. Second, the establishment is losing money because the kids come for a week, and then they do not come back. Third, the kids that enroll are at different levels of English speaking ability. Fourth, there is no follow-through or repetition of the English learned for most, so it goes away. Fifth, every kid we saw was playing a game. Overall, it looked like a fun English camp, but the kids might learn some new words, but they do not know much. The major discussion is how to make the village profitable and have the kids actually learn English.

 

 

After the tour, we went to this huge, impressive barbeque place for dinner with the businessmen. Kathy and I had our own grill, so we cooked a lot of meat (all proudly Korean beef), onions and garlic. After we were stuffed, YK let us know that it was time for our meal. I had forgotten that if rice doesn’t come in the beginning part of the meal, then there are courses to the meal. So, after all the meat and millions of little plates, we had rice, soup, and bimbimbap. I did not pace my stomach well that evening.

Wednesday was day one of three of recording. Kathy, Hyun and I are recording the teacher training these three days and then doing live teacher training (which will also be filmed) on Saturday and Sunday. We split up for lunch. Kathy, Hyun and Jasmine went back to the North Korean Noodle place and Dad, YK, and I went around the corner. There is this whole alleyway where there are countless places to get food. There are also a lot of people petitioning for you to go to their restaurants. One particular man, who was advertising cheap coffee, was a mime on stilts. We had bulgogi at one of the places that said we could get free drinks if we went there. After the meal, YK said “I guess this place is known for its pork”. Then the next question was, “Then why did we have beef?”

After lunch we were picked up by the driver and driven to the recording studio. Kathy and Hyun recorded during the afternoon, while Jasmine and I met up with Keh. Keh and I go way back. Many years ago, he dreamed of coming to the US and he applied to be a foreign exchange student. He ended up in Kansas. However, after spending a year in Kansas, he stayed with YK, Dad, and Patrick while he attended Venice High and then SMC. Keh and I had some adventures my last trip to Korea, and this time we included Jasmine in the mix.

Keh met us at the recording studio, and after a walk and a subway ride, we ended up in the COEX mall on the way to the Aquarium. This mall was the largest mall I have ever seen. The small bit that we saw on Wednesday just scratched the surface. Poor Keh had to put up with Jasmine and me as we stopped at many little shops looking for the perfect trinket. Eventually, we reached the Aquarium. I don’t remember ever having as much fun at an aquarium. First of all, this aquarium had monkeys, bats, a rabbit, a beaver, and penguins. Then there was a whole portion of the aquarium where they put fish tanks in normal, everyday things like a refrigerator, washing machine, a computer, and a vending machine. Also, every child under the age of three was at the aquarium that day. One boy, in particular, took a liking to me. He held my hand and wanted me to pick him up. I resisted, though it was tough. A couple of times I went to the bathroom after a million of these little toddler kids went there. I left unsatisfied. Keh, Jasmine, and I enjoyed the fish and the walkthrough giant shark tank as well. We were there for hours.

After a snack of pizza (Keh and I) and a smoothie (Jasmine) we walked to an area called Myungdong. Myungdong is a huge outside shopping area. It is like Insadong, but instead of arts and crafts and souvenirs, the shops and street vendors were selling knock-off purses, shoes, hair ties, and clothes. One of the quests of the trip was for a shirt with terrible English on it. Jasmine found one cheap that said, “Love u up, The New York”. I bought some more splat toys, this time tomatoes. We met up with Kathy, Hyun, Dad and YK at a Taipei mandu(dumplings) place that is all over China. YK chose this place because Jasmine and Kathy will not be joining us in China, because they are leaving Monday back to the US and other adventures. It is now official that YK, Dad, Hyun and I are going to Beijing and Shanghai and Jamyung, Euigyoo, and their daughter Hyanji (whose name I misspelled in the “Monday” email) are meeting us in Shanghai. The mandu place had a lot of mandu, but no soju, to my father’s disappointment. My favorite was the one that YK taught us how to eat. You pick it up with the spoon, puncture the outer wrapping, sip out the sauce, and then chew. YUMMY.

After dinner, Jasmine, Keh and I continued our adventure in Myungdong and then headed back to Insadong again. Jasmine was in charge and she got us home safe and sound.