July 2009

In my room is possibly the coolest alarm clock I have ever seen. I can’t chalk it up to Korean technology because I bet there is something like this in the US, but why the Hell isn’t it in my bedroom? So there are alarm 1 and alarm 2 settings, where you can have two preset times, but then there is a nap button. Also, unlike the air conditioner and the fancy toilet, the clock has English buttons. Saturday afternoon, I moved the nap timer from 30 minutes to 40 minutes, while everyone else took naps for most of the afternoon.

During my nap time, YK and Hyun’s brother Keun came and we all headed to B2 in the building, the food court, for dinner.  No one knew a good restaurant nearby and the idea of searching for one in the rain was not appetizing. We enjoyed our tofu soup in stone bowls.

Sunday was a slow morning. Most of the household are sleeping very funny hours due to the long naps of Saturday afternoon. I seem to be right on schedule (for now) and up at 9. After waking up, and helping myself to a cup of coffee and breakfast PBJ, I surfed the interweb, showered, and then it was time for lunch. The weather was hot, but at least it wasn’t raining. We walked to a little alley to a hole in the wall restaurant to have chicken and duck stuffed with rice, ginseng, garlic, etc. In fact, during most of the meal, the matriarch of the establishment was stuffing raw chickens right next to us. The food was great, but YK commented that if the restaurant was given a grade like the ones in LA, it would be a S, for Special.

 

 

After saying goodbye to Keun, we came home for naps (now a household custom), and after we woke up, we all headed out to Insadong. Seoul is very interesting because neighborhoods sell usually one type of goods. When we took the bus to the apartment, we passed by the wedding area (near the women’s college, my dad pointed out) and we can see the lamp area from our window. We are staying in the jewelry area near the plant, chair, and flooring areas. Insadong is an art area. There are tons of stores selling art goods and many different art galleries. It also has a 3^rd Street Promenade kinda feel with street vendors and some performers. After watching a man do soccerball tricks, and after getting kicked out of a closing gallery, we had dinner at Koong “a Korean traditional restaurant which does delicious dumplings very well.” (written on the bookmark I picked up on the way out). I agree, the dumplings were delicious.

After dinner, we shopped. Insadong is a great place for souvenirs. I bought some gifts as well as a pair of shoes I hope will work better in the rain. I packed flip flops, sneakers, and going out shoes, so I was in desperate need of something that would work in a downpour. YK and Dad got this amazingly odd Turkish ice cream and Kathy got the honey candy that was kind of a performance art.  (Street Food)

Today is Monday. After another lovely lazy morning, we took the subway to Itaewon for lunch and shopping. We had Thai for lunch (mmm green curry) and then began shopping. Itaewon has changed a lot in three years. When we were here last, there were tons of little shops selling knock-off purses and cheap clothes. It was always known as a place where Americans go shopping. Now, it seems most of those old shops have become Western shops, and not the cowboy kind. There was a Crocks store, New Balance store, Puma, Reebock, Nike etc. stores. Not to mention a McDonalds, KFC, Burger King, Starbucks and all the rest of the “comforts” from home. I bought some Dunkin’ Donuts coffee and Jasmine got some sandals and headbands, and we headed home a tad disappointed. I did see this sign though.

On the way home via the subway, I befriended an elderly Korean man. I was standing up in the subway, when an elderly woman beckoned me over and insisted I sit beside her on the subway. I soon realized that this was the “elderly and disabled” section. An elderly man walking through the trains of the subway came over to our section and I offered him my seat. On a side note, the only English TV channel is AFN (Armed Forces Network) and almost all the commercials are about not being rude Americans, reporting sexual assaults, getting help for alcoholism, or PTSD. One of the former commercials was of a man in fatigues and that would not give up his seat in the elderly and handicapped seating section to an elderly lady. I didn’t want to be that rude American, so I offered him my seat. He said, in pretty good, but a little broken English, that he was getting off on the next stop. He eventually sat down across from me and told me a little about himself. He was involved in the military, and he mentioned his battalion and fighting in China or against the Chinese (I didn’t understand that part). He then asked me what country I was from. I said the United States, California in particular. He said, and I quote, “I have a friend in Oklahoma. (pause) He died. (pause) 45 years ago.” He also was talking to all the other people in our section in Korean, including the original lady that insisted I sit in the seat. He said “Yakkity yak, yakkity yak, all these old people do is talk talk talk.” He was awesome. When we both finally got off (at the same stop) he shook my hand and I said it was a pleasure talking to him. He said “take it easy”. He made my day.

July 2009

The last trip to Korea and China, I was given the great task of sharing with others the adventures that we encounter on our voyage. With the help of Tony and Jason, Kathy, Hyun, Jasmine, Dad, YK and I headed to the airport (after pedicures, of course) and had to deal with the international terminal during construction. The one thing to note was the TSA guy commenting that I look a lot more beautiful in person than in the photo in my passport. Then he asked my dad how the two of us were related. Dad joked that he said he was my husband, but in fact, he let the TSA guy know he was my father. Hyun, YK, Dad and I lounged and then “Christ Gallagher”, as my boarding pass called me, boarded the plane.

Our 12.5 hour flight was one of the easiest I have had in a while. One thing to note was a luxury that was often mocked back in the day, that is, airplane food. I don’t remember the last time I had a meal on an airplane that I didn’t have to pay for in cash. Beef steak or bimbimbap, a sandwich, chicken and rice or shrimp and pasta were brought to us as well as assorted beverages. I had the former of each of the options. Also, each of us had our own touch screen TV where we could choose the movies we wanted to watch. I saw “He’s Just Not That Into You”, “Bride Wars”, “Paul Blart: Mall Cop”, “Taken”, and “New in Town” not necessarily in that order, as well as part of “Duplicity” and “Monsters vs. Aliens”.

When we arrived in Seoul, I realized that I should have checked the weather before I packed. My suitcase reflects a traveler in the Caribbean and not one that must now endure monsoon-esque torrential downpours. My flip-flops didn’t have a chance.

We currently are staying in the penthouse of some hotel. We have the 19^th floor, AKA the top floor, to ourselves. This penthouse is like a condo, for it has four bedrooms, 2.5 baths, a living room, dining room, kitchen, and then a mystery room. This mystery room looks like the kind of place where you could entertain a ton of people if you scattered pillows throughout the room. The view from most of the rooms, well, every bedroom but mine, is spectacular! Since it is raining, I haven’t taken many pictures. They will come. Since we were adjusting to the major time difference, we soon went to bed.

 

 

Today is Saturday. Since I am such a good sleeper (and I took a muscle relaxer before I went to bed), I was the last one up. Kathy, Hyun, and Jasmine had already gone to the market for some things. Then a lady came into the condo to spray something into the bathrooms. Lastly, after a shower we were out the door for lunch.

YK lead us to a favorite Northern Korea buckwheat noodle place that Hyun and YK went to as children and Kathy remembered fondly when she lived in Seoul. On our trip, we quickly realized two things: 1. it was going to rain, and 2. we were locked out the hotel. As we started walking, it started to rain. Rain is an understatement. IT POURED. Soon we were standing in a doorway of a shop to avoid the rain. Finally, Hyun bought three umbrellas to help us, but after getting a little lost, and wandering through the fish market (we could smell it coming), we found the restaurant.

 

 

We each had the same dish, though three of us had the spicier version (Dad, YK, and I). After they cut up the noodles, Hyun recalled as a kid that he had a hard time eating these noodles because they are hard to chew and one can gag on them as they slip down your throat. There is no doubt that Hyun’s tale was a truthful one, for there were many times in the meal where I had to keep the noodles from meeting my esophagus too soon.

 

The walk back was a shorter and more direct journey, but there was a lot more rain. For a brief bit, Dad and YK got separated from the rest of us, but we decided to meet them at the hotel. As we got there, we saw the bathroom sprayer lady, who remembered us, unlocked the hotel door for us. Just as she was doing so, YK and Dad came back. They had stopped at a bakery and bought bread and “ice cakees” or milky popsicles. After changing out of our damp clothes, we ate some ice cakes and have been recovering from our damp adventure. I hope all is well, and I’ll do my best to keep you up to date on the voyage!

Spring 2008 (by Pat)

Certain experiences help tell you what kind of person you are, or, perhaps, help mold you into a certain type of person. What, to one person, is a really stupid idea, to another may be an interesting adventure. I’m trying to figure out where I fall.

When I heard the Crazy English people had invited us to visit them at the Olympic Volunteer Training Site, it sounded like an interesting trip. When I found out last night where the site was, 50 miles north of the central city, past the Badaling Great Wall site, I began to wonder. It seemed like an awfully long cab ride. When I heard that Sally had said the roads out of the city would be packed because of the long holiday, I basically knew it was a bad idea.

We left at 8, took a cab north where we met Sally who had somehow persuaded a cab driver to undertake the journey. The Badaling Expressway was jammed. We crawled forward for hours. Over this time we saw numerous cars stopped on the shoulder. They seemed to range from flat tires, breakdowns, drivers who had stopped to stretch or pee, or families who decided to picnic alongside the expressway. One woman got out of a car in front of us and jogged alongside it.

The problem with all these stopped cars was that the shoulder was treated as a regular lane by the drivers, so every stopped car required a merge, further slowing traffic.

After two and a half hours, it was quite clear this had been a bad idea. After three hours, it became clear that neither Sally nor the driver knew where we were going. At one point we took an exit, asked the toll taker for directions, then backed up the off ramp to get back on the expressway. There turned out to be a lot of backing up involved.

After three and a half hours we arrived, an hour and a half late. As I paid the fare, Sally asked the driver to wait for us. He wanted money in order to wait, but Sally refused. I began to wonder how we would ever get a ride back.

The volunteer training site is a university, closed for the holiday. The central square was festooned with Olympic banners and the flags of 205 Olympic nations. Volunteers must be able to recognize each flag.

We were taken around the campus and met briefly with the head guy, then had lunch at a restaurant on campus. We were then invited to attend a training session. Low and behold I was introduced to the class of about 40 and asked to make some remarks.

It appeared to be an English class put on by Crazy English. Yk had mentioned to me on a previous trip there their teaching methodology largely involves shouting and we saw it first hand. It appeared more like a Tony Robbins type motivational meeting – “I feel good. I feel great. I feel wonderful.” Much hugging and telling your neighbor to smile. Chin up, chest out, cheese. The volunteers appeared enormously enthusiastic, but I had no idea if they were learning any English.

But the highlight of the visit had occurred earlier. While walking out of a building, I noticed a young woman, apparently a student at the university, taking a picture of me. I stood up straight and posed. She then handed the camera to a friend and ran up to me. I put my arm around her and smiled for the photo.

Obviously, she could not have been attracted to my scintillating personality, so she could only have been attracted by my manly good looks.

On the way out, I expressed some concern to yk about finding a ride back to the city. She suggested that our driver would be waiting because he wouldn’t be able to find another fare back to city and he knew we were going back. Sure enough, three hours after dropping us off, there he was. I was glad to see him, but he seemed genuinely ecstatic to see us.

The ride back was only about two hours.