The Demilitarized Zone (DMZ)

Cold war, anyone? A week ago, we went to the ol' DMZ, the 2 kilometers of ecological splendor that lies between North and South Korea. It was pretty interesting. We went in the tunnels that the North Koreans dug into South Korea. (Of course, North Korea accuses South Korea of digging the tunnels into North Korea in a move of diplomatic deception on par with "I know what you are, but what am I?") Also, in the museum, there are many instances where, under "escalations in military tensions," it says things like "Secret agent penetrated in Pyeonyang." I think they meant "infiltrated." But I don't know if the Geneva convention applies here.
But, jokes aside, it was pretty harrowing to look in the telescopes at the North Korean houses, all grey, all identical, and all in clumps. (The picture to your left is about as good a picture as you're allowed to get of the North.) There was a North Korean flag at the top of a super tall flag pole on the propaganda center. It was also about 20 degrees, and there was a hardcore cold wind coming from (you guessed it) the North. It was pretty poignant.




After the Demilitarized Zone, we went to a train station that was built solely to help convince the North to reunify and open up travel between North and South Korea. Bush Jr. came here to make a speech, and they have a big monument to it in the station. The station is quiet, and there was snow over the tracks. Oh so poignant, yet again. But maybe someday they'll be used.

Buddhist Temple Stay

We went to a Buddhist Temple a few weeks ago for a night along with a group of other foreigners to see what the lifestyle of Buddhist monks is really about. We arrived in the afternoon, late, which was kind of embarrassing. But the bus system in Korea sucks. Buddha forgave us, so let's move on.
We did a meditation session right at first. (that is, after I got changed into my hot leotard and Aladdin/M.C. Hammer initiate pants. Dig the pic) I had hardcore dry mouth, so I kept gulping and my insides sounded like they were scraping against themselves. I was definitely keeping everyone from achieving enlightenment with my gurgling. I even got Carly, sitting on the meditation pillow next to me, doing it. You'd be amazed how self-conscious you can get in a room full of twenty people sitting silently for a half an hour.


After that, we went to the temple and did some chanting. There was this Ukrainian woman who would come to the temple and stay for two months and pretty much be the temple peon in exchange. Now, she was super nice and I'll probably go to Buddhist hell and become a hungry ghost for this one, but she was completely tone deaf. During the chanting, she was so tone deaf that she would make it sound almost demonic. It was no wonder the other monks kicked her out after two months.

Anyway, we went to sleep at nine, getting ready to wake up at 3:30 AM for some more chanting. I ended up talking with the guy I was rooming with for a long time, (No co-ed housing. Zen and the town in Footloose are about on par in terms of progressiveness) so I got about 4 hours sleep.

The next day, we woke up and went to the temple at 3:30. It was still dark, and all you could see was the glow of lights through the lattise work in the temple. It was really striking and beautiful. We went inside and chanted, and my legs almost fell off from sitting on them for so long. Then we went back to the meditation chamber after breakfast (people's stomachs were not getting Zen. They were rip-roaring.) Then, we got to do 108 prostrations while chanting in the temple.

A prostration is going from standing straight up to laying down to lying on your knees with your head to the ground. Do that 108 times. That's right. I almost died. And my tendon in my right knee almost snapped like a rubber band. I hobbled my way to the garden, where I helped the monks with tend to their crops.

Then we hopped back on the bus and headed out of there. All irreverence aside, it was really nice. The head monk was very gracious, even when the Swedish guy was seven feet in front of him during the tea ceremony taking picture after picture of him, flash on, with a thunderous shutter. I wanted to back hand him and say, "Ikke jor det, mother@*#&@*!" But that would be Norwegian, and he wouldn't understand me.

The tea ceremony was really pretty, and I will bring a tea set home and hook every one up with some very quality green tea.

I love Ricola

Showing my appreciation for years of throat relief.

Trip to Yeongyan

This weekend, we went along with a group called "Adventure Korea" way down south on a 6 hours bus ride to a small village called Yoengyan. First, we stopped off at the chili pepper museum. There were lots of different types of chili peppers there, some posters of the "Miss chili Pepper" contest, and many cutesy chili pepper characters to accompany us on our journey into the history of the chili pepper. Among the various specimens encased in plastic bubbles on the walls with nameplates was the "Penis Pepper," which I just assumed was badly translated. Or hoped.

Next, we went on down to the village. Our host families were all there to greet us, though none of them spoke a lick of English. We were staying in extra rooms in their houses. They were very nice, and prepared traditional food for us (all of which was vegetarian, luckily for Carly) Two other couples were staying in the same house as we were, and one of the women was Chinese and she spoke Korean and English as well. She translated for us as we ate dinner with the couple. They said there were about 50 families in the surrounding area, and that all of their children had grown up and moved to Seoul.

In the middle of town was a really nice sauna with massage bed things and some exercise equipment that was open 24 hours. (This would be a good way to spend your golden years, I think!) In the evening on our arrival, we carved some totem poles. I got the honors of drawing our totem face, and ours was the only happy-go-lucky cartoon totem. The other ones were scary. Then, we all drank around a bonfire out on the lawn of the only school in the area, played in relay races against the townsfolk. (I felt kind of bad, an ex-sprinter and all versus the old folks, but we won the box of Soju!) That was really fun.

The next day, we went on a hike to the surrounding mountains (by the way, for the duration of our stay, we were all herded into Hyundai flatbed trucks. It was quaint for the first day with no rain. The second day, it was raining, and we were wearing plastic paunchos, so every time the truck banked hard or hit the breaks, everyone would go sliding into each other.)

The hike was really beautiful. We took a lot of pictures, but we all looked a little ridiculous in our white paunchos.

We all bid our families adieu and got back on the bus for the jaunt back home. It was a really nice time. We watched "Nuremburg," and "Braveheart" on the bus, which, if you haven't seen, I highly recommend. We also watched "Mindhunters," which, if you haven't seen it, consider yourself lucky.

Halloween Korean Style

On Monday and Tuesday, we celebrated Halloween at the hokwon. I dressed up like a vampire (because that's what they gave me as a costume) and Carly dressed up like a witch (because that's what they gave her as a costume.)
We spent both days cooped up in the haunted house room, which consisted of a big curtain that covered two sides of the room. I would wait inside one of the curtains and come out and scare the kids. More often than not, I would get laughed at and punched in the face. (I was wearing a really silly mask. The other kids who were working in the haunted house stole the good evil monkey one. Bastards.)
Carly was hiding in a cardboard box at the end of the haunted house. She would pop out and shine a red laser pointer under her face. She would get some scares, and, on occasion, get assaulted and have to take refuge inside her box. The Korean children tend to have violent reactions to things. One of the Korean teachers was grabbing them through the curtain to scare them, and she got punched in the face.
So, basically, we were stuck in a dark room for 4.5 hours, or 9 hours if you want to cover both days. Additionally, the teachers thought it would be cool to use real pig skin, pig intestines, and squid eyeballs for the "feel the monster's body parts" game. I think they missed the point. But it didn't stop the kids from ripping their hands out of the box prematurely and spraying the lovely juice all over (me).
It was fun when we were released from our entombment to go mingle with the kids. They had been playing the mummy wrappin game in another room, so they were full of energy. Being in a "villainous" costume, I had to have many a showdown with the kids dressed up as heroic characters. I fended off many a plastic sword in the name of the undead.

The Museum of Contemporary Art

Carly and I took the subway to the Seoul Museum of Contemporary Art today. Once we got off, we had to walk up the Seoul Grand Park gauntlet of old ladies selling boiled silkworm larvae (with it's lovely fragrence filling the air.) And they're not in a group. They line the 200 yard path that leads up to Seoul Land, The Seoul Zoo, and the Museum of Contemporary Art. So every time you think you're free, your nose is accosted anew within seconds.
Once we made it there, it was very cool. We saw lots of neat art. We saw a massive sculpture made of black dice. It consisted of amorphous shapes that were very round and had interesting slopes and concave arches, which was especially notable considering dice are, well, square.
In the center of the museum was a giant tower made of 1003 television sets (all Samsung brand) made by a famous Korean video artist called "The more, the better." Korean foundation day is October 3rd, (10/03) so that was the significance of the number of TV's. It was supposed to be the artist's conveyance of his wish for national prosperity. Putting in for 1003 Samsung television sets probably ensured Samsung's economic prosperity, so I think he did his part for society.
After we finished there, we headed out to Isu, where we went to the Tofu House and got some excellent fried whole fish. We are now adept at dismantling entire sea creatures with only chopsticks and our own ravenous wills. We ran into our friend Mike there serendipitously, who was sporting a saucy and shiny cape from his Halloween costume, and he helped us take our fried fishy apart.
Pleasant.

My Jerg gets r0x0red

Today, I met up with some middle school boys from my hokwon to play a game of Starcraft, a game I started playing in about 8th grade. I haven't played in a couple of years because I'm supposed to have grown up. Luckily, that was a fleeting pursuit.
Starcraft is a strategy game where you pick from three "races," each of which have different combat units and styles of infrastructure for building your bases. The three races are Terran (human), Protoss (really wise Klingon-esque aliens) and Zerg (Ravenous DNA assimilating hive creatures.) However, my fellow Korean gamers can't pronounce "Z" so I was playing as "Jerg" according to them. Jerg it is, I said, and we entered into combat.
I was teamed up with them for a game against some of their friends, and we won thoroughly, with me providing a diversion for one of their opponents who obviously didn't realize I was plodding my way through like a toddler.
The second match wasn't so flattering. I teamed up with one of my students, and played pretty badly. We were thoroughly crushed, and I was obviously dead weight in that instance. But all in all, it was still fun. I was glad I got to hang out with my students outside of the classroom. When I left they barely looked up from their newly-started game to say "bye bye," but I still felt the love. I understood that the pure energy of competition had bound them to their monitors like battle hardened gladiators wearing striped sweaters and socks with sandals.

Waking Party

This weekend, I went to go see Dave-from-San-Francisco's band, The Waking Party, play at Funky Funky. It was a great show, kind of a Franz Ferdinand injected with punk energy. I enjoyed it quite a bit.

Teaching children is fun when you hit them, when they do funny things, and when you can talk about Starcraft with them. On other occasions that it doesn't fall under these categories, it can be a little tedius. But that's to be expected. They bite and hit each other ceaselessly, and scream at the slightest provacation. But they're cute and fun sometimes. I have been kneed in the balls and sneeze spittle has found its way into my eye. But overall, not so bad.

I have been going to Seoul a lot. Which is rockin'. I've never been very accustomed with big cities, and Seoul is so safe that I am getting very comfortable hanging out and enjoying big city life. I get to learn about other cultures, like such indispensable information as Dave-from-Cambridge teaching me "apples and pears" for stairs and "trouble and strife" for wife. That's pretty amusing. And he's just so charmingly befuddled.

I'm also enjoy being in a soceity where I can't understand the language, or even begin to read it. Sometimes, I find myself dodging other white people I see just because I am savoring my anonymity. Gives you a lot of time to think uninterrupted, which is nice.