Category Archives: friends

Wicked is awesome!

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Last night, Jeongmi and I had a girls date to go see Wicked, which is having a summer run in Seoul. For some reason, I never got around to seeing this show in the US, so it was really awesome to see it in Korea AND with the Australian cast. [I was surprised to find that they use a "Mainstream American English" dialect for the dialog. I wonder why.]

The show was at the BlueSquare theater, which is a great venue. With building space so limited in Seoul, the theater is mostly underground (and accessible directly from the Hangangjin subway station). So when you walk into the lobby, you’re level with the second balcony and descend to get to the first balcony and mezzanine levels.

The lobby spaces were really decked out, one of the benefits of having the show stay for a three-month run in Seoul. You could read about the production elements, such as the fabulous costuming…oh wait, only if you can read Korean. (Speaking of costuming, the women’s fashion was so trendy in the audience. I love people-watching!)

I was actually really glad to be a native speaker of English. The Korean-speaking audience had to rely on supertitle screens on the sides of the stage. I was glad I could focus solely on the show.

Ha, look! We unintentionally stood on the appropriate sides of this display!

Gah, I had so much fun seeing Wicked. While the music isn’t my favorite, the show really is a great example of well-done “Broadway spectacle.” And the cast had really powerful voices; Jeongmi and I got goosebumps!

As I told the boyfriend last night in an email, I think Seoul is turning me into a sap. The love story made my heart hurt so much! SO MUCH.

Maybe I’ll go see it again while I’m here….

Child who just wetted his bed.

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Yesterday, I met up with one of my former students Hyeran for a walking tour of some areas in downtown Seoul.

We started at Cheonggyecheon (청계천), a man-made stream running through the city.

Then we saw Bosingak (보신각), a bell “pavilion” nearby. Like a lot of things in Seoul, it is very old, though apparently, it burned down several times and has been rebuilt. I think it was going to be rung later that day, but I didn’t stick around to hear it.

Next on Hyeran’s agenda was Insadong (인사동), a traditional/cultural district with a main thoroughfare filled with shops. It’s a little tourist-y, but visiting it doesn’t make you feel like you’ve sold your soul to Satan (I’m talking to you, San Antonio Riverwalk!) In fact, all signage must be in hangul, even if the company is not Korean. For example:

Right away, I noticed a crowd of people forming around this normal-looking man who was getting his make-up done.

As it turns out, he is some semi-famous actor who has had roles in a few Korean dramas. Unfortunately, I don’t watch dramas, so I have no idea who he is. (엘리 씨, I am counting on you to comment and illuminate me.) Apparently, he is famous enough that we weren’t supposed to take pictures of him. Oops.

Many young Koreans are desperate to display their puppy love, as evidenced by this rooftop café’s decor. For an exorbitant price (7000 KRW), you could buy a vinyl disk and personalize it with a Sharpie, thereby making your declarations of love immortal…until the sun bleaches the writing. I’m way too cynical for this. Sorry, boyfriend (who doesn’t read MicaPie).

I, however, was more interested in playing this traditional Korean game, which involves throwing a wooden dowel into a narrow bucket:

As Hyeran’s urging, I also posed with this “winnowing basket.” According to the sign, this basket was used by Korean mothers of yesteryear to humiliate their children into not wetting their beds:

“The mother puts a winnowing basket on her child who just wetted his bed and spread the rumor to embarrass the child about the fact that he just wetted his bed in order to let him avoid wetting his bed again in the future. She then demanded the child to go around the neighbor and ask for salt which will repel negative vitality.”

Now, I have no plans for children right now, but if I had them, I would most certainly use such a device on my bed-wetting progeny.

Don’t laugh. I wetted myself with the condensation on my water bottle:

Near Insadong is Jogyesa (조계사), a famous Buddhist temple. My last experience with a Buddhist temple in Korea involved nearly puking in the backseat of an Acura, so this time was mercifully shorter and easier. Plus, the temple was hosting a lot of cultural events that I could participate in:

One of the activities was getting to make traditional dduk or Korean rice cake. This involves beating rice into submission until it becomes a giant gelatinous mass, which is then consumed as absurd mockery of real dessert. [I kid, Korea! Sort of.] The mallet was actually quite heavy. As such, only men were trying this activity…that is, until I came along.

Check out the Korean guys in the background. I’ve got them shakin’ in their boots.

I hear that Jogyesa is normally a peaceful respite in the hustle and bustle of Seoul, but that was not the case yesterday. The rice cake that I was pounding was being distributed for free, and if there is one thing that Korean ajummas love, it is free stuff.

You seriously could have mistaken this scene for humanitarian food aid distribution during a severe famine when people’s hunger drives them to unscrupulous behavior. Or maybe they were that excited to taste dduk pounded by yours truly.

I didn’t want to get trampled by some ajummas for free food, so Hyeran and I slipped off to a cute Korean restaurant that made giant dumplings:

I, however, had bibimbap.

Though I’m a little sad that I missed the Made dishes boiled beef (and the devil knows what boiled beef):

Hyeran is actually from Ulsan, but she went to Yonsei University and knows a lot about Seoul. She was a great tour guide and came up with a lot of things to do. This is a lot more pleasant than when people just ask me to decide. It’s not as if I’m going to say, “Hmm, first I’m hoping that there’s a thousand-year-old bell pavilion. And then I demand to find a Korean C-list celebrity before being trampled by some middle-aged women at a Buddhist temple.” Seriously, I can’t even dream up stuff this good.

 

Oh, hi, campground neighbor!

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Last night, I attended the GOA’L Summer Barbecue.  GOA’L (Global Overseas Adoptees’ Link) is an adoptee-founded and -run organization and is a great resource for adoptees around the world and in Korea. This was the first GOA’L event that I attended, and it was kind of strange to see so many adult adoptees in one place.

I met some new people, of course, but it wasn’t any sort of emotional hug-fest, if that’s what you were expecting. People who are not adopted often assume that adoptees bond almost instantaneously with each other because of our shared experiences/grief/loss/whatever. However, that really isn’t the case.

That being said, I’ve liked a lot of the adoptees I have met (Hi, Kim!). And last night, I really enjoyed meeting some of Beth’s [adoptee] friends that she has made here.

Oh, and let’s talk about this Nanji “Campground,” shall we? Let’s just say that no one was roughin’ it in the wilderness last night. This is the kind of campground that you could not pay my dad to stay in.

Basically, you pay 5000KRW for a wristband to enter a giant dusty field, where you set up a tent and…eat and drink.

Think fairgrounds or outdoor music festival venue. You are ridiculously close to your neighbors–so close, in fact, that we considered stealing their water:

We were also close enough to take a gander while a 5-year-old child pulled down his pants and took a dump in a plastic bag before being wiped by his unfazed parents. Oh, right. Okay then!

But don’t worry! There was the illusion of camping! Many Koreans love (LOVE!!!) to buy gear: biking gear, hiking outfits, golf clubs and gloves, you name it!

I’m pretty the allure of Seoul camping is not spending time in nature; it’s the purchase of a tent to be used as a holding cell for your sacked-out child:

Mountain hiking adventure!

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On Saturday, Jeongmi and I went to see Snow White and the Huntsman. If you were wondering, movies that are bad in the US are…still bad in Korea. It was rather entertaining, though the “throw my hands in the air and mouth What?!?“ factor was very high.

I was surprised to find that movie tickets were only 9000KRW each (a little less than $9).

This morning, Jeongmi and I met up at 8:30 to hike Achasan mountain. I read somewhere online that this was one of the easiest hikes for newbies; you don’t even need the standard Korean hiking outfit (long pants, three-tech shirts, visor, gloves, walking poles).

Achasan is just under 300m high, but yours truly is terrible at converting from metric. I really had no idea what to expect, but I assumed it would be easy.

Jeongmi isn’t from Seoul, so she was excited to go on any adventure with me–even an ill-planned mountain hiking adventure.

In case you’re looking for Achasan, it’s just past this Buddhist temple.

Koreans are really crazy (CRAZY!) about mountain hiking. Even though we were on the mountain path by 8:45am, there were already a lot of people, swarming on the trails like multi-colored ants.

This guy was part of a group that brought mountain bikes. I really have no idea….

Within 15 minutes of climbing, we arrived at this outpost. Jeongmi and I assumed that we were at the top…

…so we ate a snack and congratulated ourselves on being master climbers.

You’ll notice that the “Skinny Bar” has 99 calories.

Because 100 calories would just be too many!

We then realized that we were less than halfway up Achasan and had to keep walking. There were many lovely outposts to view Seoul and the Han river. Too bad that Seoul has so much smog and pollution.

Can you see the river? I barely could.

I was pretty much the only one on the mountain with bare legs.

Jeongmi and I were speaking English, and as such, we of much interest to the  other hikers, many of whom turned around to stare at us. This guy was so excited to meet us and speak English with me. He wanted to tell me about every city he had visited in the US. Apparently, he hikes Achasan every weekend.

In case you forgot your hiking accessories, no worries! You can buy them along the way, literally on the side of the road/path.

I wonder if he takes Visa.

Sweating buckets, we finally made it to the summit of Achasan! Jeongmi said that this was one of her crowning life achievements, even better than graduating from MATESL.

There were several other people at the top, many of whom were engaging in the Korean national pastime of…eating. In fact, these gentlemen were drinking makgeoli (fermented rice wine) and eating snacks.

Is 10:30am the right time for rice time? Please! It’s always the right time for rice wine.

Hiking Achasan was the perfect escape from Seoul’s crowded streets, and it was even better to do it with a friend. Jeongmi and I were in different cohorts in our program, so we didn’t get to hang out much. It’s great to spend time with her here, and I hope we can really make a dent in the long list of things to do in Seoul.

Here’s my Friday.

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I have nothing meaningful to write tonight, so instead, you get pictures and captions.  You didn’t come for the words anyway, did you?

How about a cheap street bra?

 

This is the courtyard of the Foreign Language Center at SNU. I’ve long since stopped expecting much from humanities buildings in academic settings.

Kind of looks like a jail, right?

Our teacher doesn’t seem to care that Tarita and I already knew each other before coming to SNU. As partners, we get to start each class period by asking each other questions, the answers to which we already know.

 

This is one of our two teachers. She’s a little scary, though I can’t put my finger on exactly why….

Want to help Africa? Here, buy some water in Korea.

I was bored today.

I love the handi-capable sign in Korea. The little figure is ready to take on the world, wheeeee!

The walk home from class has three successively steeper inclines right before the apartment. For a reason that still eludes me, Tarita decided to walk up the steepest part like this today:

Homestay sister and I were told to study diligently tonight, so that is what we did.

The universality of drunk food

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Today was Korean Memorial Day, so I didn’t have class. I met up with Jeong-mi for lunch and a subsequent afternoon of window shopping in Coex Mall. Coex is a giant underground mall; according to Wikipedia, it is Asia’s largest underground shopping center.

This is a “store” I pass on my long march of death up the hill to the apartment. I always think “Garlic Garage” in my head when I walk by it.

Homestay mom and dad were at Red Rock Bar (owned by homestay uncle) for the afternoon, so homestay sister and I took a taxi there for dinner.

My first day here, homestay mom made a big deal about how homestay sister and I look really alike. I’m pretty sure we don’t. 

For dinner, homestay family ordered…Chinese take-out! Just like in America, the food is fried and fatty, dripping with thick sauces. However, the dishes aren’t quite the same. Tonight was noodles with black bean sauce and deep-fried strips of pork with a sweet sauce.

Homestay uncle had a serious case of the drunk munchies. (He literally tried to force-feed me tonight by repeatedly shoving a piece of fried pork in my mouth.)

Homestay dad was really, really amused with himself for posing me as a draft-pulling bartender.

Undercover Korean

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Yesterday, fellow adoptee and UIUC alumna Beth played “undercover Koreans” in the Sinchon/Hongdae area.

Beth took me to Loving Hut, which is a vegan restaurant chain in Seoul.

After lunch, we wandered over to the Hongdae area, which is filled with so many Korean hipsters. Except, here, they’re not hipsters, they’re just Korean college students. It was refreshing to see all the fashion after the standard collegiate uniforms at UVA and UIUC.

The amount of stuff in Seoul is truly overwhelming.

Hongdae is apparently the artsy university. It was kind of shocking to see a large amphitheater in the middle of Seoul:

Beth doesn’t speak any Korean, except for what she has picked up in the last ten months. I can’t imagine what that would be like; her progress and acclimation is really impressive.

It is not always apparent what word adoptees should use to describe themselves here. When we speak, we are immediately identified as non-native, but our lack of language seems to be initially perplexing, if not irritating, to native Koreans. Upon SooHyun’s recommendation, I have been using “foreigner” (외국인) to describe myself because “American” (미국사람) can be interpreted as “second-generation Korean-American who didn’t learn the mother tongue.”

On the other hand, using “adoptee” (이뱡아) apparently elicits [unnecessary] sympathy. Beth said that there’s an eye clinic in Seoul that gives away a number of free Lasik eye surgery procedures each year to adoptees. Instead of retrospective sympathy, I think it’s better if Koreans change their attitude towards unwed mothers, encouraging a climate where they can raise their own children. It seems like things are slowly moving in that direction, but I can’t say for sure.

There I go again, making cultural judgments….

Things I learned today:

이뱡아 – adoptee

 

Plastic me

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Yesterday, Tarita, who took Korean with me last year, arrived in Seoul. She is staying with a homestay family in the same Dreamtown apartment complex.

When we went to lunch, the restaurant ajumma immediately handed Tarita the English menu. For a hot second, I was perplexed as to why I also did not receive an English menu. The ajumma was then very confused when I asked to see it.

After wandering around Dongdaemun, we grabbed coffee (purple sweet potato latte? Okay!) and headed to e-Mart, the Korean equivalent of Target/Walmart to stock up on living essentials. Because the towels in Korea are so small, I ended up buying an ugly mumu to wear in between the bathroom and my room.

Desperate times call for desperate measures.

See our blue cart? We saw it sitting abandoned in one of the aisles, so we grabbed it. Later, an employee came over and started jabbering at me. I eventually figured out that we had the wrong kind of cart; all the other shoppers had smaller gray carts. The employee told us to stay where we were and trotted off. Right as I was going to tell Tarita that we should just make a run for it, she came back, this time with an official store cart.

For classes next week, I have to bring in two 2.5×3 cm photos of myself for my university ID card. Yesterday, homestay mom took me to a photo kiosk to get these taken. The photographer was rather disgruntled by my swoopy bangs, but it’s not like this is a passport photo, used for international identification–not a big deal.

I picked up my photos last night:

Do you think it looks like me?

I guess it’s standard to photoshop all images. My skin is now flawless and plastic-looking, and the dark circles under my eyes are gone. I can’t tell if he slimmed my jawline or not. I tried to tell homestay mom about this, but I think I ended up just repeatedly saying “Face! Change!” She kept saying, “No! Pret-ty!”

In any event, I now have like nine photos of my plastic self, so if you want one, let me know.

I also discovered that homestay sister wants to get plastic surgery for her eyelids during high school. This shouldn’t have been surprising, given the prevalence of such procedures, but it still distresses me. I made it obvious that I don’t think she needs to do it, but homestay mom said, “She has small eyes,” to justify the surgery.

 

[Edit: Apparently, homestay mom does not approve of her daughter getting eyelid surgery. Yay!]

Cultural relativism is a hard thing to avoid. On one hand, I don’t want to make judgments about other cultures through the lens of my own. On the other hand, plastic surgery for eyelids (and nose bridges, chin lines, cheekbones, etc.) seems so unnecessary and ultimately detrimental to one’s self-esteem. (Though many Koreans will argue otherwise, saying that it makes them feel better about themselves.)

On the note, I’m going to go get my Friday started. I will leave you with a picture of homestay dog being drowned bathed.

In which I demonstrate semi-competence.

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Today, I took the Korean placement test for Seoul National University. The first part of the test was a fill-in-the-blank/short answer section for grammar points that we had to use. Here’s an example:

Question: What kind of people do you like?
Me: (Thinks to self: “Oh crap! I don’t remember how to say ‘nice’ or ‘funny’!”) I like people with lots of money.

After we gave up on the written portion, we had to go for an individual oral interview. Here, a professor sat across a desk from me and asked a few questions. Then he proceeded to go over my test, marking it up and occasionally stopping to remind me that I had done something wrong.  At the end of the interview, he said (I’m pretty sure.) that I’m in between two levels. I decided to start with the lower level so that I don’t have a nervous breakdown this summer.

After coming home for lunch, I went out to MyeongDong to meet Sooo Hyun, one of my UIUC friends. It was so nice to see her again, and it was also great to be able to speak freely (in English). The language barrier is quite difficult, and it’s frustrating not to be able to express my personality very well. Homestay family probably thinks I’m demure and smiley all the time because it’s often easier than trying to express cynical thoughts.

Later, we stopped for ice cream and marveled at all the thin, glamorous girls in Seoul.

My homestay is in a large apartment complex. It even has a driving range where homestay mom takes golf lessons!

Words I learned today:

충정하다 : to refill (as in, my pre-paid subway card)

Freak-the-F*ck-Out Catering

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Are you a Korean hosting a baby shower for another Korean?

Are you totally confused by the concept of an American baby shower?

Then you should hire Freak the F*ck Out Catering to provide the cake for your next event.

I will bake a ridiculously humongous cake for the shower. Four sticks of butter? No problem! Two packages of cream cheese? Bring it on!

Flying down country roads with a three-layer, half-assembled cake in the backseat of a sedan? Done and done!

(Recipe here.)

Just imagine your pregnant guest of honor cutting through those delicate swirls of jam and cream cheese frosting…

Your caterer may have passed out on the floor, but at least the layers will be clean:

Seriously, this cake was the most massive baking project I’ve ever undertaken, and it wasn’t even that complex! And because it was for Narae’s baby shower, I was terrified that I would mess it up. All in all, I think it turned out quite well, and the other shower guests said it was very tasty. I’ll definitely make it again, though ideally, I won’t have to drive it anywhere….