Summer Class and Housing Conclusion

I moved into the ha-suk-chib on monday. from the moment i displaced one month's rent from my pocket into ajumoni's hands ("aunt" - what one calls the lady who owns and runs the house), relief and contentment slowly permeated my mind and the moving-out doubts therein. once again the shoes adorn the hallway. i love my little yellow room. very basic and ascetic. it provides privacy, and allows agreeable amigos and amigas anytime i approve. a window invites some natural light, a fan mounted on the wall blows and buzzes. ajuma serves breakfast and dinner each day, authentic mouthwatering korean food. during meals i practice my korean with ajuma and her 2 daughters (2nd and 5th grade maybe). their living space lodges an upright piano which helps me communicate a little beyond my korean articulations. today i entreated them to a little beethoven, clementi, chopin, and some others they request that i sight read.

summer classes ended today. summer class friends leave soon. my predominately japenese class and i became good friends. likewise, the teacher, a rather playful and humorous lady, took us to lunch yesturday (and apparently went out drinking later - an event i missed as i was introducing some korean pianist friends to my quaint yellow shelter). Noticed oddity: korean's of 50 years or more can easily be mistaken for someone in there 20s. many of them, my teacher included, evade the loss of youth that haunts the thoughts of so many. they mask senility inexplicably and imperceptibly. it's entirely enigmatic.

tomorrow i embark on a 5 day adventure with the oles and korean cohorts - a journey to some sights in south korea.

Housing Deliberations

for the first two weeks we stayed in a charming dormitory, Mu-ak. In Muak one places one's shoes outside of the room in the hallway, though theft is of no concern. the pillows are filled with pieces of clear plastic straws, not feathers or cotton. a tiny convenient store resides in the basement floor. the drink machines carry my favorite beverage (aside from some traditional korean concoctions) "aloe morning." a stuborn old korean man, ignorant of any english, gaurds the entrance and checks IDs, a burden i grew to love curiously enough.

We moved into the International dorm 3 days ago, however. a complex in which we planned to live in until the end of the program. We dont like it. it's not korean. people there dont speak korean, mostly english. There are cameras vieled with dark globes decorating the hallways, staircases, and lounges - big brother is watching. Students dont place there shoes outside the door because they just might get stolen - no trust. the pillows are plump with cotton. the ironically likable gaurd is replaced with a high tech finger scan and code entry. The vending machines are deprived of "aloe morning," and so too am i. there isnt a convenient store; which is needless to say, inconvenient.

Thus, all of us cohorts are considering an on-campus or near-campus living complex, "han-suk-cheep." they are cheaper, provide the basics, and most importantly, house yonsei korean students which would force us to work on korean. they offer breakfast and dinner, laundry facilities, a bathroom. it's more rustic, but more culturally sound. the only inconvinience i know of is that the location is further from my frequent destinations. the international house is willing to refund a certian amount. we need to do some monetary mathematics and diaboliacal deliberations. we'll see.

Music Friends

Today i finally had my piano audition. the teacher liked my playing, set me up with a teacher for for 1st semester, and granted me an access card to check out practice room keys. after the audition i met 7 korean yonsei students my age or a little older (so far ive met mainly japenese students studying korean like me - because their grammer paralells korean), 6 of which play piano extraordinarily. We spent 6 hours together thereafter - in a practice room showing some skills at the keys, eating ramyon near the world cup stadium, and speaking broken english or korean respectively over some korean goodies at the swulchip (a korean bar). they were overflowing with welcoming generosity. the truest definition of friendiness. they also helped me tremendously with the korean language and will continue to do so im sure. in class i learn high societal forms built in the words (polite and formal style), but they taught a little bit of how friends speak to one another. almost a completely different language!

Being Caucasian in Korea

if you're different you're usually either the shunned rotten egg or the eulogized rare delicacy. fortunately in korea, i am more akin to the latter. i dont mean to be narcissistic, but i can feel that a surplus of eyes survey my presence. others tell me im the handsome tall dark haired american, something to behold. this isnt the case in minnesota.

for instance, ive only been to one club in america and i was simply another sardene packed into the congested space. last night we went to harlem, the quintessential club: thin fog of smoke, screaming music (i had ear plugs), and a strobe light creating that paneled visual illusion. An ambiance condusive to lasciviousness, or dissorientation and escape. in contrast to my role as the ignored deposit on the wall, my presence evoked many smiling looks of interest. this purely physical attention is a rather unique experience for me.

Korean Cuisine

My smile of uncontrolable ecstasy while witnessing the communal meal in "Babette's Feast" is tantamount to my sensations devouring the cullinary genuis that is korean food. Sidedishes often accompany the meal allowing for a bit of creativity, mixing poignant combinations to your liking or salavating suprise. No wonder the polite reception to korean food is to enhale it like a slob.

Not only is the taste superior, but eating "right" seems an obsolete notion. Thin people abound unquestionably with out a trace of the atkins low carb diet or any other fleeting, unnatural adjustments flooding the markets. Delectables like kimchi, p'ajon, pulgogi, naengmyon, marun anjwu, and traditional drinks serivice salubrity superfluously. i wish our system didnt buoy foul fast food and the narrow selection therein. the tours of taste transcend that tomb.

Songrooms

songrooms are extremely popular in korea. they're better understood by bending the direct translation into "karaoke room." tonight all the cohorts and a yonsei student who went to st olaf last year, Minah Oh, went to one amongnst the plethora of these musical outlets. unlike a karaoke bar in america, each room is encapsulated and fairly soundproof. so the shy voices out there are less embarressed and more apt to open there voice to the microphone. we all belted out some our favorite korean, japenese and english songs. smiles, laughs, claps, tranfixed states all met each other's crooning. who knew singing with friends could be so fun.

tiolets, classes, and more

The latrine's water pressure is not strong enough for toilet paper, one must place it in a trash can. However, i first began flushing it. i assumed there would be a sign informing me otherwise. but it's as unspoken a rule as putting a sign on your house reading "don't steal from me."

Hanguel is everywhere. Of course it would be, but when you can't read it effieciently it becomes arduous. moreover, daunting. in dint of it's phonetic consistency, you can always read the language, you just cant always understand it. you realize how many words are in a language. and you gape at those who know 3 or more here.

im in a korean language course just above the beginning level taught by a very goofy woman . she only uses korean. everyone in the class, interestingly enough (given historical animosity, is japanese (except for myself and a frech student). thankfully the french student knows some english, so if either of us dont understand we can ask one another for clarification. the dialogue is not always clearified though. nevertheless, i enjoy the classes very much, am learning canyons full, and have an unending desire to speak korean well - i have 5 months time.

more bits later

stimulus

as expected, stimulus overload over the past 30 plus hours ive been awake. first however, i took off on the thrid not the second since an overcautious flight agent would not let me through the gates on the 2nd. she misinterpreted my visa, locked out my flight and sent me home. their was a certain subconscious mental preparation for the trip, which deflated once marooned in mn for another day. from this floating state, i became fortunately ungrounded, differently this time, as the following day they let me board the aircraft. both of my flights provided amiable plane buddies. the first to chicago a golfer guru and his wife from minneapolis. the second flight, 14 hours in length, was even better as i was placed next to Bosook and Su. Su i met in the check in, and Bosook i met on the plane. 3 points. 1, the billowing marshmellow terrain of clouds at 39000 feet is far to celestial and powerful (i even saw a circle rainbow, which i captured and will post maybe). 2, ive never been such a minority, an invaluably subjective experience. 3, Su (a friendly commonwoman from Busan who helped translate conversations and guide them with others) and Bosook (biologist in boston) both taught me all sorts of korean and made an otherwise time consuming flight enjoyable.
Seoul: busy, congested, unsafe driving, flashing neon signs. the crowds make an interesting atmosphere, one which constitutes the individual nature of seoul to be sure. Hi Jin Kim, Hyoung Joo, and Deun keun kim, the 3 cohorts ive met so far: very nice, took us olies (5 total) out on the town, fun indeed.