Mi Gook Day Sah Kwan

So today was the big day I went to Seoul to visit the American Embassy to file for a replacement for my stolen passport. I was dreading this day all week just because I knew it was going to be pricey...and because I wouldn't at least be able to explore Seoul to make up for it. I had made plans with Allie Thull, a girl I went to High School with whose own trip to SoKo finalized my decision to come here. Unfortunately, my work decided that this was too good of an idea, and instead figured they would be pricks and require me to still work in the evening (despite still charging me 1 of my 7 vacation days for the year). So despite me essentially being required to go to Seoul and immediately come back...I was led to believe I had to be on the bus at 6am...so I got up, and took a taxi to the bus station. I bought my ticket to Seoul for 17000won and off we were. Allie was nice enough to plot the entire route for me including detailed subway directions...but my boss led me to believe I would never make it back in time without using a taxi.

I sometimes wonder what the heck I was thinking by coming here because this place is not even slightly built for me. I am 6 foot 2 inches...or roughly 4 inches taller than everyone in this place...so if I am not careful, I hit my head a LOT. This morning was no exception. Getting on to the bus, I hit my head hard enough to daze me for a moment and give me a nice little headache. So I go to find my seat...and I find that they have those stupid immovable armrests. Great. This is going to suck. So I sit down, and find out immediately I am not going to fit in this seat. My only option is to force myself in to this seat, which is extremely painful...but what can I do? Furthermore, I experienced what it must be like for a black guy to walk into a convenience store because every person sitting in the rows around me got up and found seats as far away from me as possible...making me feel quite welcome. I know you bastards out there are prolly thinking "Well...maybe you smelled?". To this I reply "Eff You". Not only did I shower this morning...I can assure you I was the ONLY person on that bus wearing deodorant.

So fast forward about 3 hours of pain, and we finally arrive in Seoul. I am going to admit...I was impressed. Seoul is a big ass city with big ass buildings, and anyone who knows me, knows that I LOVE big cities and skyscrapers. What sucks, is that since I didn't get to stay and enjoy the place...it was much like giving a premenstrual woman a small piece of chocolate. It was enough to excite you and make you crave more....lots more...but not enough to leave you even slightly satisfied.

So I got off the bus and walked for about 15 minutes until I found a bunch of taxis waiting around and I hopped in. My boss told me to just hop in and say "US Embassy" and the taxi driver would go. So I do just that...and all I get are blank stares. Nothing. He speaks to me in Korean....and I respond my own blank stare. Finally I remember (thankfully so) that I had asked my students how to say "American Embassy" in Korean. So I say to him "Me gook day sah kwan". He punches in something on his GPS and off we go. I am in the cab for about 20 minutes and luckily I found myself in front of the US Embassy. (Side note 7100won for 20 minute cab ride...not bad)

So I had this mental image of what to expect at the US Embassy. I figured there would be a giant holy light beam shining on the building, with dozens of American flags raised. After crossing a courtyard filled with oak trees and fountains, that a door would slide open and I would hear a booming voice in perfect English say "Welcome my son, you are safe now". Sadly...this was not the case. First off, the place looks like a prison. There are police EVERYWHERE....like every 5 feet or so. Korean police. There is just something about the US Embassy being guarded by Korean Police that seems wrong to me. How about we get some American Soldiers or something? So I up to a big door and am buzzed in...to find more Koreans. I am stripped of all my electronics and scanned for weapons. I am given my paperwork along with a visitors badge to regain my belongings when I am done. I walk in, cross a parking lot...and am buzzed into the actual embassy building. Surely here I will see the first American person not named Spencer, right? Wrong. More Koreans. What the f?! I go in to the Citizen's Services office, take a number...and sit down. I wait until my number is called, and go up to do my business. Luckily my my dad sent me my extra passport photo from back home, because I am immedately told that that passport photos I paid 10000won for were invalid because they were too small (this pisses me off). I go through the rest of my transaction, pay the $100 for the passport, and I head out. I hailed a taxi...and once again, this bastard doesn't speak a lick of English. My boss specifically told me to say "Central city bus terminal" and they would get me there no problem. Wrong. Luckily I kept my original bus ticket from the morning, because I pulled that out and showed the driver who after a few seconds of looking at it figured out what I was looking for. I was of course dropped off at the wrong friggen place...but I found it after walking around 1/3 mile and showing people my bus ticket. I paid another 17000won and on my way back to Jeonju I was.

Of course the seats on THIS bus were smaller than the seats on the previous...so again this was 3 hours of pain on a bus. I did get to ride into Jeonju for the first time during the daylight tho..and I got to see the World Cup Soccer Stadium that was here from the year SoKo hosted. Luckily those pictures turned out because the picture I took of what I can only describe as Korea's rip off the Gateway Arch in St Louis did not. This city is actually a pretty decently sized city and I will have to do some exploration one of these days. So once I got back to the bus terminal I hopped in to a taxi and told the cabbie a Korean phrase my boss told me to say that would take me back home. Of course when I told him...he started laughing. He even called someone on a cell phone and told them what I had said...laughing. He must have thought I was dumb and couldn't understand that he was just saying what I friggen told him....so this pissed me off a bit. I later found out that I asked the cabbie to drop me off at that thing in front of my school that looks like a subway entrance but is actually just a ridiculously long way to cross the street. Why that was funny to this guy I don't know.

At least it is Friday...and tonight I plan on drinking. I am going to check out Korea's version of a German Bier Garten. I'll be sure to fill you guys in on the details. If you would like to see my pics I took in Seoul, as well as the other pics I have taken while in SoKo...visit the following link to the album.

http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2670201&id=8605638&l=dd6a1b4f5a