Lets see, it has been 3 weeks. It is Sunday night, which means I would normally spend all day tomorrow crying because I missed football for the 4th week. But it is okay; I am going to try and stay up late and listen to the Broncos on 850 KOA via the internet. The game starts at 2:00 a.m. for me but I don’t have to work until 12:00 and I am testing all day tomorrow so all I have to do is make sure the kids don’t cheat, so this is a good time to try that out.
The T-Express (Pictures)
Could you imagine trying to paint that thing, They couldn't either
Could you imagine trying to paint that thing, They couldn't either
I have been having fun. Getting to know some people better. Trevor and I and a few people I work with went to a place called Everland. It is like Disney Land but no theme rides just roller coasters and scary rides. One ride is the T-Express. It has the steepest drop of any wooden rollercoaster in the world and top ten in size and speed. It was so fast, when I saw the first drop in the beginning, I was thinking, “no way this is safe.” It was so fast. They have a crazy safari ride that is like Jurassic Park, with Grizzly bears and tigers and lions roaming free in the woods and along the trail. It was very cool, they supposedly have a Liger but I did not spot it, they did have white tigers and white lions though.
The Drop is the one on the far right
Everyday life stuff:
The first week here I did not wear deodorant (because I could not find any) and walked to school in Houston like humidity everyday. Surprisingly I never really smelled bad, despite how sweaty I got, and I took some of the best cold showers of my life. A follow up note, I don’t think Koreans wear much deodorant, I’m not sure they need it. Plus B.O. sometimes, to me, smells like weird food, like meat or something cooking. As tasty as Korean food is, it sometimes has a similar feeling to it. Like I’ll will smell it and think, “That smells really yummy, but on the other hand it reminds me a little of B.O.”
I still struggle trying to figure out basic things. I don’t have a phone yet and I don’t want people holding my hand every time I want to try something new. That being said I struggle because it gets old not knowing what you are doing, and it gets old looking or feeling clueless. Which is what is going to happen nearly every time I want to try something new. I have been trying new things, but other times I will just roam the streets looking for something easy, and something that I understand. The best example is food. Food here smells and tastes different than any food I have ever had. So new delicious smelling food is very exciting. Often I will walk past a place that smells so good, not like human sweat, but something that could blow my mind or be something crazy that I could brag about to people back home. It’s just sometimes I just don’t have the backbone. I don’t have the courage to go pull up a seat and try my best to order food and drinks when I don’t know the cost or name or what it is.
This is Meat Street, it is all Restaurants and bars. It is call Meat Street because every restaurant specializes in a different meat (Pork one place, Beef next door...)
If there was an opposite of a Korean I have to be close, I really want to speak Korean and blend in as best as I could and know exactly what to do and order, sometimes I’ll fake it. I will buy some food from a stand, not knowing how much it will cost or what exactly I am getting, but I will act like I do and he will say something in Korean and I will act like I know what he said. I will give him 10,000 won right on queue. Knowing that is too much, but it is one bill and I can pretend it is all I have. However, that is not always an option, and I have creep in the door in big, tall and white, not knowing how to speak anything important and be the center of attention. It is hard enough to go in, so deciding that I made a mistake and turning around and skulking out is out of the question. Plus I want to love everything I try; I don’t want them to bring out the stuff the mi-gooks like. I want the good stuff, I want the octopus, I want the chicken feet and pig face. So far, all three are delicious. For me to enjoy that stuff I have to put my self out there a little bit and that has never been easy for me. So very often, I slowly walk past, trying to catch a glimpse of what they are eating without looking like I am. All the while, tortured by the sweet smells or wondering what kinds of magical things they are doing to the pork. Poor me.
I have learned a few universal truths. The most important is that no matter what you do or where you are, onions are gross, and if you like fresh onions you are less of a person than someone who knows better. I stand by my belief that people eating onions was an accident or originally the last resort of a starving person.
I mentioned the term mi-gook so I can tell a funny coincidence. Mi-gook, means American, and Whay-gook means foreigner. It is not derogatory in anyway like gringo, which isn’t really that bad either. But if you happen to over hear the word gook, it means they are probably talking about you, not necessary anything bad, but it makes me laugh.
Oh and I made it to 2:00 and KOA does not stream to Asia… poor me.
The Drop is the one on the far right
Everyday life stuff:
The first week here I did not wear deodorant (because I could not find any) and walked to school in Houston like humidity everyday. Surprisingly I never really smelled bad, despite how sweaty I got, and I took some of the best cold showers of my life. A follow up note, I don’t think Koreans wear much deodorant, I’m not sure they need it. Plus B.O. sometimes, to me, smells like weird food, like meat or something cooking. As tasty as Korean food is, it sometimes has a similar feeling to it. Like I’ll will smell it and think, “That smells really yummy, but on the other hand it reminds me a little of B.O.”
I still struggle trying to figure out basic things. I don’t have a phone yet and I don’t want people holding my hand every time I want to try something new. That being said I struggle because it gets old not knowing what you are doing, and it gets old looking or feeling clueless. Which is what is going to happen nearly every time I want to try something new. I have been trying new things, but other times I will just roam the streets looking for something easy, and something that I understand. The best example is food. Food here smells and tastes different than any food I have ever had. So new delicious smelling food is very exciting. Often I will walk past a place that smells so good, not like human sweat, but something that could blow my mind or be something crazy that I could brag about to people back home. It’s just sometimes I just don’t have the backbone. I don’t have the courage to go pull up a seat and try my best to order food and drinks when I don’t know the cost or name or what it is.
This is Meat Street, it is all Restaurants and bars. It is call Meat Street because every restaurant specializes in a different meat (Pork one place, Beef next door...)
If there was an opposite of a Korean I have to be close, I really want to speak Korean and blend in as best as I could and know exactly what to do and order, sometimes I’ll fake it. I will buy some food from a stand, not knowing how much it will cost or what exactly I am getting, but I will act like I do and he will say something in Korean and I will act like I know what he said. I will give him 10,000 won right on queue. Knowing that is too much, but it is one bill and I can pretend it is all I have. However, that is not always an option, and I have creep in the door in big, tall and white, not knowing how to speak anything important and be the center of attention. It is hard enough to go in, so deciding that I made a mistake and turning around and skulking out is out of the question. Plus I want to love everything I try; I don’t want them to bring out the stuff the mi-gooks like. I want the good stuff, I want the octopus, I want the chicken feet and pig face. So far, all three are delicious. For me to enjoy that stuff I have to put my self out there a little bit and that has never been easy for me. So very often, I slowly walk past, trying to catch a glimpse of what they are eating without looking like I am. All the while, tortured by the sweet smells or wondering what kinds of magical things they are doing to the pork. Poor me.
I have learned a few universal truths. The most important is that no matter what you do or where you are, onions are gross, and if you like fresh onions you are less of a person than someone who knows better. I stand by my belief that people eating onions was an accident or originally the last resort of a starving person.
I mentioned the term mi-gook so I can tell a funny coincidence. Mi-gook, means American, and Whay-gook means foreigner. It is not derogatory in anyway like gringo, which isn’t really that bad either. But if you happen to over hear the word gook, it means they are probably talking about you, not necessary anything bad, but it makes me laugh.
Oh and I made it to 2:00 and KOA does not stream to Asia… poor me.
3 comments:
What a great post, Seth, and great pictures too.
And it is a good thing that you weren't able to catch streaming KOA. Listening to that game would have been more depressing than missing it.
Seth, you r braver than I am. I have a rule with food, if I can not spell it or pronounce it I wont eat it. Ithink I would have a year supply of PB&J dropped shipped to my apt. Love the pics, Steph would love the roller coaster. I am afraid I woiuld grease the tracks with human waste.
Uncle Dave
Seth, great pictures. They help me visualize beautiful Korea.
Anybody die on that roller coaster?
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