Why Not? – the best name EVER for a gay bar…NOT the best answer from strange Korean men

So YES – I have celebrated my first birthday EVER away from my family and friends. It was a little difficult, but I am glad that it happened closed to when I first arrived rather than later in the year when I will be really starting to miss home. I turned 24, but found out that that I am 25 or 26 in Korean age because you are already one-year-old when you are born but if you are born before a certain time, sometimes they go by the year? I really don’t know. It’s confusing and I prefer my age in American.

I just happen to meet another person ALSO born on April 26th at the 80’s birthday party for Hayley. Joey (the fellow Taurus) has been in Korea for awhile and already had a party planned – also with a theme – Risky Business. NO - no hookers but lots of white-collar shirts and black sunglasses. Some did go full out with sans bottoms (see pictures) but I adorned pants.

We went to this gay bar named “Why Not?” hahahaha which I think is the best name for a gay bar EVER! I laughed when we got there and I saw the name, I laughed while inside when I thought about the name, laughed after leaving and I recalled it, and I have continued to laugh about it every once in awhile when I remember it. It was an interesting place - full of boys who were not interested in me in the least bit haha (obviously). So it was actually nice to be able to dance without being bombarded to very loud “unce unce” and diva music such as “It’s Raining Men!” The laser show was awesome. “Lots of green lasers everywhere” is the best description I can give you.

We left the bar with the fabulous name to fill up on delicious Korean street food (seriously, you guys are missing out over there). After eating a couple kabobs and some dokbuki (no clue on spelling for that) we were not ready for bed. We headed to another club up the road and on the way, we realized we had lost a few members of the group so we waited for them to show up. While waiting, a Korean man came up to us and started speaking Korean – pretty typical right? Well then, not so typical, the man points to me then points to himself and says a bunch of stuff. After he rambled on for a bit, we realized he was trying to purchase me for the evening. AHHH! The guys from my group told him “No” several times but the man wouldn’t take “No” for an answer and instead indicated “Why not? She go with me.” One guy from our group even said, “This is my girlfriend” and made the “X-sign” with his arms (which means no but can indicate to buck off in some situations). The Korean man still insisted that I should leave with him so we had to walk to a new location to meet our other friends. I was pretty offended…I mean I was dressed nothing like a hooker (as I mentioned already before) but I wasn’t completely shocked. My dear friend Jade warned me before I left the US that by having blonde hair (or just being foreign), I could easily be confused with a Russian prostitute or mail-order bride, as they are common in Korea. In fact, most female foreigners in Korea are either English teachers or prostitutes. Hmm…it’s a good thing Joey’s theme party did not include dressing like the “hookers” from the movie.

Happy Birthday to me!

These arrows are how we found Joey's place

Here are a couple of us trecking our way up to Joey's (some ready with white shirts, and others being losers and adding them later, if at all)

Joey and I

Boys with shades

Girls with shades

Group shot!

Poking, Prodding and Peeing…

Within the first two weeks of my arrival, I was sent to the hospital to have a medical exam done. I was lucky to have Selena, the adorable receptionist from my Appletree (my school), to help interpret for me. I was asked to fill out a few forms and then sent to pay (well Selena paid with school money). Then we made our way up a few floors, lead by a very nice lady who spoke fairly good English. In one room, I had my eyes checked and my temperature and blood pressure taken. Then we walked down the hall and I was told to change into these ugly scrubs. They did a chest x-ray (probably to check for TB) and I think also checked my heartbeat (it’s been a few weeks…I promise to write more regularly and up to date once I get caught up!). I was then sent to have blood taken and the lady from the blood room gave me a cup for a urine test….this is where it got interesting. I walked into the bathroom and saw one stall that said “baby seat” and initially, I assumed that meant it was a child’s potty. I wish I had gone in that one and spared myself time and embarrassment. The other stalls were stand-up toilets!!!! At first, I was like oh no! Then I figured if other women of the world can do it, then Ingrid Anna-Lisa Keller sure can! Well…. I failed. Much of my urine made its way on the floor and it was just a bad first experience with the stand-up potty. When I walked out after about 10 minutes (I’m sure Selena wondered what in the world I was doing), I saw that the “baby seat” toilet was in fact a sit-down toilet….who says only babies need to sit down to pee??? I plan on trying again at some point if I encounter a similar situation and will perhaps let you know if I’ve progressed in my skills. But at this point, I still stand by the idea that “True ladies sit down to pee.”

Lighting of the Lanterns Festival

So one Monday evening, a couple foreigners and I decided we would head to this “Lantern Festival,” a beginning to “HiSeoul” festival and to a celebration leading up to Buddah’s birthday. It was an evening full of surprises, as most of my mini adventures around Seoul are turning out.

The evening started out very solemn. There were people with lanterns everywhere and lots of women in traditional Korean dress. Several groups sang and several people, well MEN, spoke and prayed. Then everyone started a parade of sorts around the plaza (at City Hall). I joined because I figured – why the heck not? A man playing a percussion instrument of sorts lead a chant as we processed, chanting along the way. After the parade, people were trying to give us all these lanterns – I guess so they didn’t have to carry them? I got two of them, one large and one small (and yes Leenie-Beenie, they are yours assuming I can get them to you somehow).

Then the unexpected blindsided me. This techno-like-get-happy-and-dance music came on and we were lead in a series of dances that resemble the Macarena and Electric Slide combined. I was completely dumb-founded, as were the other foreigners I was with, especially since most of the evening had been so solemn and prayerful. We decided to go with it and had a blast making fun of ourselves. We were some of the only foreigners and were noted as such by the main announcer at a point (not sure what he said but people turned and laughed). I felt like a celebrity at points because I can’t tell you how many times I had my picture taken throughout that night – at least 200-300 by various reporters, spectators, and the like.

And so ends the entry to one of my first Korean cultural experiences. Enjoy the pictures and video!

Seoul Plaza aka City Hall - note the giant Lantern

A few of our group ready to see some lanterns get lit

Traditional Korean Dress

Monks - which you aren't supposed to take pictures of normally in temples or something like that

A Boy and His Lantern

Guys with funny hats that we thought were gonna dance but all they did was play the drums for like 2 minutes

The pretty pretty lanterns (of which I have several for souvenirs)

Parading with the Koreans

The friggin' huge lantern (note processing Koreans to the right and around)

Joining the strange dances....hopefully video to come later!

These ladies were quite good

With some of our favorite ladies (they helped us learn the dances...plus they just looked cool in their outfits)

And I took this awesome pic of these crazy kids jumping

How to Get Home 101

OK it is time I catch you all up so I will do my best to post several entries over the next few days. So that you can see some pictures of my neighborhood, I think my getting lost and not knowing how to get home story is a good one.

I was very lucky and the principal of the school, Alexia, picked me up and drove me in her car my first day of work, especially after a long flight and long drive from the airport the night before, and a night of off and on again sleep. While very lucky, it also distorted my perception of how far I am from the school and how long it would take me to get to and from my apartment and school.

I’ll describe more about the school and my experience observing and teaching in another entry but I spent my first week (Tues-Fri) observing classes and trying to pick up on everything I could about what I would be doing. Talk about information overload!

Anyway, I got to meet Nicole, the other foreign teacher. And at the end of the day, she was to help me get home because she had been to the apartment at least once – as it was the last teacher’s same apartment that I replaced. Haha well…Nicole wasn’t completely sure and I was NO help! Trying to find my way in a neighborhood where all the signs seem to look like the artwork of a three-year old (aka Korean letters that I don’t understand at ALL at this point) We wandered around for about 2 hours before FINALLY finding the place and once we did – it was HEAVEN! I changed out of my heels that I’d been walking around in for 3 hours and we went for a delicious meal of galbi. On the way, I took pictures of various landmarks so that I could find my way to a point where Nicole would then meet me and show me the rest of the way to school. These are what you see below.

The road home - apartment just ahead on right.

I used the school just ahead to know that I would turn the street just before. Schools are a good landmark in general because people know where schools are - schools and churches.

The dry cleaners - the next landmark on my journey to school.

A green fence - which is actually the common fencing used I've noticed but not in my neighborhood so much - thank GOD!

A church - again another good landmark. Dad, does that steeple remind you of anything? Gswend maybe?

A small ally intersection - watch out for cars but more importantly motorcycles and kids on bicycles - they are more dangerous and will take you OUT!

A SIGN IN ENGLISH!!! YAY!!!! This is what I turn at to go off the main road

Looking across the main road where I have to wait to cross 10 lanes of traffic to finish the walk to school. AHHHhhh the joys of city life

Korean Food

Outback dinner with other foreign teachers

My First Galbi Meal

Cold Stone & Coffee Bean

Market up the road from my house

I know I promised pictures of my apartment and an entry on it…buuuuut I already have a picture of food and have been asked by several people about it so this is next whether you like it or not.

So Korean food…..this stuff is DELICIOUS!

I eat lunch at the school basically everyday because it's free…and I’m sure to the Koreans, school lunch is like school lunch to us at home but for me, it is offering something interesting everyday! Korean food is of course served and it has been different every day. I don't know the names of most of it but I can describe it. Kimchi (not sure of spelling) is served everyday. This is a main dish for Koreans. It is a cabbage that is sort of pickled and spicy and looks red but it can be served a lot of different ways. Fish is eaten a lot more often than it is in the US and most of the main dishes are either fish, beef, or pork. I don't see chicken as much. Rice is served everyday, as are vegetables. One day, some sort of sweet corn paste with cherries was served. It was really good! The geletin type stuff is served with a lot of things and I'm not sure what it is but it is not bad. Parents sometimes bring snacks and treats for the teachers that we get to eat and I have tried a lot of things that way that let me I know what I am eating! One of my favorite things to eat is this type of rice cake. I’m not speaking of the Quaker crunchy rice cakes (though they have lots of those too –all kinds of flavors and yummy!). These rice cakes are sort of like perogies in that they can be sweet, spicy, sour, etc. and they are sort of like a potato like a perogi, but these are much chewier.

I have had lots of sushi – for very little money! For what you would pay about ten dollars in the US, I get for about two US smackeroos. The sushi has specific names. The kind I've eaten most is kimchi gimbop (again, I think?). Both are delicious! I remembered eating this interesting fruit/vegetable at Kobe’s in the good ole HKY once that I really liked and it is served ALL over here, including in the sushi.

Galbi is good. It is a very traditional type meal that is strips of beef cooked in front of you with TONS of side dishes that are tasty and continuously filled! It is not too expensive either….about eight bucks feeds two people! (see picture)

In general, I find I am eating much healthier. There are fried dishes, but very little bread and red meat in traditional diet though you can certainly seek it out. Fish is eaten a lot more and rice is served in place of bread as a meal staple. I also don’t keep my apartment stocked with tons of things because I don’t yet feel comfortable walking into any store and being able to understand what I’m buying and make sure I’m not getting cheated by any store owners since I can't read the prices (though Koreans are VERY honest people and most would not do such a thing). Also, Asian food doesn’t have a lot of preservatives in it so it doesn’t keep that long. Therefore, it isn’t wise to buy a whole lot at once. Most people go to a market or a street vender every day and buy what they need for the day or the next day.

Haven’t really figured out how I’m going to cook with only a hot plate – no microwave and no oven….hmm…mom says I can steam things to reheat and such? I thought I had a rice cooker…but turns out no. I have a toaster…not even a toaster oven, but a toaster. Any advice on cooking with a hotplate??? I might see about buying a microwave from the electronics market or a leaving expatriate trying to get rid of things…but it’s all timing and luck for that sort of thing. I will try to learn to cook some so that I can come back and share it with you all!

Culturally, I really don't get the Koreans yet - as to why some things are allowed and others not. To start off, they basically eat off of each others' plates (and they wonder why everyone gets sick at the same time??). So when food is brought out, people pick out what they want and eat it directly from the serving dish. That has been a little strange to get used to but I somehow have grown accustomed to it. But with that being said...sometimes I don't have much time in the morning and I eat my breakfast on the way to school but evidently, it is considered rude to eat in public. Some people look at me strangely (though it is changing with the younger generation). However open public displays of bodily functions are perfectly acceptable, particularly for men. Sure, go ahead and pass gas in my face or hock a loogie as I'm walking up the stairs of the subway, FINE! But don't you dare eat that carrot walking down the street.....

Expense wise, Korean food is much cheaper than Western food, including fast food. You can eat a REALLY good meal out for about eight dollars - and remember, you eat off of each others' plates so that's split among 2 or 3 people! However a Western meal can get pretty pricey - up to 20 dollars or so depending on where you are eating.

AND the drinks….they have coke but it is EXPENSIVE. They also have Fanta – pineapple and orange flavored are the most popular that I see everywhere. Welch’s grape soda is big here as well…which is interesting because I think of it as an “old-fashioned” soda. Yogurt drinks are VERY popular. They often serve them to the children at snack time. Vitamin drinks are also big. Cass is the Budweiser of Korea and it is very lager-ish. Soju is crazy stuff and it is EVERYwhere and VERY Korean. It is a rice wine but tastes nothing like wine – more like vodka! The proof is only about 40, more than the average wine but much less than most liquor. It has a strange effect on the body. It can make one feel like a zombie if too much is consumed (not that I know from experience….*cough cough*).

Attached are a few pictures: My first meal with several foreign teachers at Outback Steakhouse (yes Western food but real meats from Australia!), a market that is down the street from my apartment, a Korean Cold Stone - one of the many Western food places, and a picture of my first galbi meal.