A Random update of collected thoughts....

Religion is very important here. Sure, it is considered important in the states as well, but it feels like the Koreans are more religious than we Americans. You see churches everywhere here. They are often times VERY big, and have huge crosses on them. That's right. They are Christian. I actually didn't expect that coming to Korea. Unfortunately for me, Koreans are not at all shy about talking religion with people. I get asked to go to church (or "Churchy as it sounds in Konglish) on a weekly basis. For the first few weeks I was here I would simply deflect the question and try to move on. A few of them started getting persistent, so I finally decided to let them know I was agnostic. I am unsure if they quite understand what I was talking about, but here is a direct quote from one of my students after class, "Religious people are better than not religious people".

In my beginner class, we work from a book called "American Headway 2". The book has all these lessons and topics and things that we go over, and one of the topics was chewing gum. So I started to talk about how much I like gum because I dislike tasting my food after I eat it, so I asked the class if they themselves chewed gum. A few of the students did, (one even chewed a whole pack a day) but then one of my students chimed in with "girls don't chew gum because it makes them less beautiful". So here I am sitting there shocked, and I ask "what does chewing gum have to do with being beautiful?". I was then treated with a nice story about how "being beautiful is the most important thing for a girl" and than "chewing gum causes your face to get bigger". I understand the theory behind this...chewing causes the muscles in your face to be worked, thus they get bigger, but let's be serious here. Your face is not going to get any bigger because of chewing gum. If repeated motion was enough to cause muscles to grow...then why don't teenage boys have one arm bigger than the other? When I informed the girl of my opinion she replied with "it has been proved by scientists".

I was out to dinner with a student tonight and she asked if V-day was a big holiday in America. I told her it was "viewed as a hallmark holiday, like boss's day" to which she replied with a puzzled look on her face "You hate gays?"

I was teaching my students conditional statements (specifically, if I had a billion dollars I'd...) so I asked how to say "billion" in Korean. Apparently my pronunciation of the word closely resembled the Korean word for "fuck you" because they whole class thought it was hilarious.

Random quote heard in class: "The Japanese are very very very very polite....but no one knows what is in their mind!"

Spencer and I went to E-mart...which is like their Walmart...only the place is PACKED constantly. Imagine Walmart or Best Buy on black Friday...and that is what E-Mart looked like. The place has 2 levels on it, and the there is a steep escalator that will take you and your cart from one level to the next. It's actually quite cool because when you put the card on the escalator somehow the wheels get locked in to place and it's doesn't move...which is a good thing because I just imagined this cart of TVs bowling over Koreans. It would be hilarious, but not very practical.

The thing about E-Mart that gets really frustrating though...is the sheer number of people there. I get stared at EVERYWHERE I go in this country, which normally I can handle. I have become quite adept at internalizing, so when I go out I usually can tune everyone out. Sometimes though...the staring gets on my nerves and I end up getting annoyed by it. It's one thing when someone stares at you, but tries to be convert about it (imagine a guy checking out a cute woman on a bus) but when it is blatant staring...and it is a lot of people, you really start to want to do some throat punching. If I am in a bad mood, I will just stare right back at them and give the people the good 'ol dagger eyes. If it particularly annoying though, I will say things to them. I know they have no idea what I am saying, but it is kind of satisfying to at least get it out there.

Finally for this update...I have found a few places now where other foreigners hang out. They aren't always American, but at least I can go there to see some other white people (and the occasional non-white/non-asian). What's weird though is most of the time people don't say anything to you. I king of feel like since there are only about 300 total of us in this whole city, when we see each other there should be some kind of secret handshake or something. Most times, I don't even get a nod. I realize it is just as easy for me to say hello to them as they do to me, but when they are sitting there with a group of friends and I am standing there alone, it can be a bit intimidating! When I am out with friends, if I see a loner, I will usually at least invite them over to the table. My social network at least has been expanding, though. I think I sometimes come off as a bit of a dick sometimes because I usually turn down requests to hang out during the week...always citing a "need to study" which is true...but since I am probably the only person in this city (or country) who is not only working full time but pulling 18 college credits...most people don't quite understand why I would spend a Tuesday night at home doing coursework instead of drinking until 2am with them.

Language Barriers

OK...so since you are going to getting only my side of the story, I will try to be as unbiased as I can.

I went out tonight with my American co-worker and 2 Korean friends. We had a damn good day. Had lunch, went for coffee, then went for dinner, then went for pool. So this Korean girl, Eva, is one of my students and I consider her a friend.

So we are playing pool and the girl decides to cheat. So I said "ohh....kesekhee!" which I had been told meant son of a bitch. I said it half laughing and wasn't looking at her...I just meant it in the way we would say "son of a bitch" when something doesn't go our way. It wasn't a planned thing to say either, it just kinda slipped out.

Well the girl...who I am friends with...gets BEYOND offended by this. I mean...she is realllllllly pissed off. I guess that in Korea that word is pretty offensive...but really... shouldn't she cut me some slack? I am an American and I have no idea what that really means. I understand that different cultures find different things offensive, but I guess I had hoped in a situation like that I would be given the benefit of the doubt. I mean...we are friends, right? Don't you usually let things like that slide at least the first time?

I mean shoot...this is a country where I get told on a daily basis that I am fat and unhealthy and need to lose weight. I hear shit like "religious people are better than non-religious people" and am told I need to start going to church despite the fact that I am pretty committed to being agnostic and don't really see a place where church would fit in to my life. Also...this place has bars that literally are called "Hitler Bar" and shit like that. I don't get offended because I realize they don't know any better when it comes to my culture...so how about the same kind of tolerance?

Isn't part of being a friend realizing that maybe...just maybe...if I say something offensive...I didn't mean it...especially when I AM NOT FUCKING KOREAN.

The whole situation has put me in a pretty foul mood so far has ruined my weekend.

331 days....331 more fucking days.

I Call It Chocolate Love

Korea loves Korean companies. I realize this might sound obvious...but really, this goes beyond national pride. Practically everything is run by huge companies that make Walmart look like the local 5 and Dime. Samsung, LG, and Lotte seem to be the biggest 3 companies, with Lotte being the biggest. Lotte is EVERYWHERE. They make the ice cream, own the stores people shop at, make most of the goods they buy...and with "Lotte World" even run the amusement park they vacation at. Hell, just to make the odd parallel to 'Dogma' even stronger, they have their own restaurant like "Mooby's" called "Lotteria".

This goes even farther with their music industry. Korean pop music, or "K-pop" is entirely controlled and created by huge companies. In America people were shocked when they found out that a few of a the big boy bands of the 90's were created by a marketing genius (like Lou Perlman who created the "Backstreet Boys"). The difference of course is that people didn't know this until well after the fact. In Korea however, not only do people know this is what happens...they are in to it! As an example, the top band in Korea right now is a 9 member all girl group called "Girl's Generation". They released an album 2 weeks ago, and I am not kidding...but EVERY song on the album is in the top 20 of their music charts. If you would like to see the number one song...here is a youtube link http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S-bYRBqBvco the name of the song is "Oh!". The band was announced over a year before even a single member had joined.

Here is what happens. When a child is discovered (either through scouting or parents submitting their child) the company, SM Entertainment in the case of Girl's Generation, takes the child in and they are trained. Some kids do acting, some do dancing, some do singing, and others do a combination of the three. A child can do this for YEARS without ever being a member or a band or anything. They are simply being trained to be pop stars. Most of them even get plastic surgery during this time because Korea's obsession with being pretty makes Hollywood look like a lifetime movie. This is a sentiment I hear almost DAILY...about how important it is to be pretty. Now, people speculated as to which SM trainees would join the band, and when the band was chosen, they were announced like the starting line up of the Super Bowl.

Once you join the band, then the real work begins. Girls Generation has been around a little longer than 2 years. In that time they have released 2 albums, appeared in several commercials, and have even done 3 reality TV shows (A horror spoof, one where the girls go around cheering up sad people, and a third where the girls take care of a REAL BABY).

The previous #1 hit was a song called "Chocolate Love" which Spencer and I both thought was supposed to be an allusion to loving the chocolate brothers out there (which is quite taboo here). We were wrong. VERY wrong. Actually, the song is a 3 minute and 56 second commercial for the LG Chocolate Cell Phone (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A2NkGHkqDZk). The Koreans are fully aware of this too.

I'm not going to lie. I really like Girl's Generation...and I am embarrassed to admit it. The stuff is catchy, and since you hear it played EVERYWHERE here, I guess it is bound to grow on you eventually...and really, that is the point. This music is specifically crafted so that people like it. There is no musical accomplishment here. There is nothing of substance to the songs, and even though it is catchy to listen to, at the end of the day it has no real effect on your life. Somehow I don't expect Korean kids 10 years from now talking about "Chocolate Love" or "Oh!" with the same reverence as someone from my generation talks about "The Freshman" or "Jeremy".

I suppose I see a lot of this coming from the states as well, with the Lady Gagas and Kety Perry's out there, but Korea takes it to a completely new level.

One Night In Jeonju

Last night was Friday night in Korea, and Spencer, Walter, and I have been getting together to go out for dinner and drinks. So last night we decided to go to a Norebang (translates to "Song Room")..which is the korean equivalent of Karaoke. I invited the students from my evening classes, of which 4 came with...so we had a total group size of 7. It was me, Spencer, Walter, Miranda, Debbie, and Sinwoo (many of the students choose English names either for fun or so their American teachers can call them something).

After my last class, we left the hagwon as a group and decided to get something to eat. We went to a place 2 floors below the norepang called "Garten Bier" a German themed restaurant that I like because of the atmosphere, the cup holders built into the table that keep your drinks cold, and the crazy glasses they serve beer in (pics to follow). Like in the States people under the drinking age have to leave places that serve alcohol after 9. This potentially was going to cause a problem because one of the students, Danny, is 15. I decided it would be worth a try, so we went in to the establishment and sat down. I had Danny sit between Debbie and Miranda because even though they are both of age they look VERY young, so by proximity Danny looked a lot older. It worked. The girls were carded, and the Danny was left alone. We order a pitcher of beer and some food and start to socialize. The girls were really interested in the cup holders built in to the table because when turned on they get REALLY cold. To impress them, I stuck my hand in there and held it in place for at least 2 minutes...which they all thought was crazy because it was far too cold for them to even touch.

Before we sat down, I needed to use the bathroom, so I went inside, for once remembering to duck and not hit my head. There were 2 Korean men occupying the urinals, just standing there smoking. I stood there and waited. They seemed to not care that I was waiting to use the urinal so I went into the stall. As I was coming out one of the men had left and Sinwoo was walking in. The other man continued to smoke while leaning on the urinal. Sinwoo walked up to the urinal and this guy basically sat there and watched as Sinwoo went. This whole situation basically broke every single rule in the "Men's bathroom code" (http://www.askmen.com/money/how_to_300/385_how_to.html)

Danny had maybe a few sips from the beer we gave him, and ultimately gave it to Sinwoo to finish. As our meal drew to a close only Sinwoo and I had a bit of beer left (my glass was poured a lot more full then the rest). So, in a show of bravado I pulled my glass up and said "Ok all...it's time for a magic trick." I then proceeded to slam the beer down in about as much time as it would have taken to pour it on the ground. I did a little head nod of acknowledgment as I made a joke about making the beer magically disappear. Suddenly I begin to hear coughing and I whip my head around to see Sinwoo choking on his beer. He said "It didn't look that hard, so I wanted to give it a try". I reminded the poor guy that I was a professional and that far better men than him had fallen before me.

*A note about Sinwoo.

Sinwoo is perhaps one of the most entertaining people alive. He is the most innocent and odd person you have ever met, so basically everything that comes out of his mouth is pure gold. I wish I could take a video of the guy because he needs to be shared with America and I really think he would be an unwitting star if he ever made a youtube video. Unfortunately he is very camera shy and the picture I have of him (a link will be posted at the end of this post) was taken guerrilla style.

So after dinner we went upstairs to the norebang. I am a huge fan of Karaoke, so I was looking forward to this. For those of you out there who have ever done Karaoke, I have to give Korea credit...their Karaoke is WAY better than ours. You do make a few concessions though in the differences. First off, there is no alcohol. Second, you have to pay (10,000-13,000 won per hour). The trade offs then are that you get a LOT more chances to sing. You see, unlike in America where you will take turns singing in front of a large group of people...in Korea you rent out a small room where you and your friends get to do all the singing. Sure, you don't get to feel like a rock star when 300 cheer for you after you sing, but it's still a LOT of fun. More importantly, the song list is HUGE. Thankfully there were a lot of American songs so I got to sing several favorites of mine (including "Part of your world" from Little Mermaid!).

We sang for about 2 hours, and I found out that many of my students are incredible singers. Sinwoo was especially great. Not only does he have a great voice, he attacks each song with the kind of passion you would expect from a trashy romance novel.

By the time we left the norebang, our group of 7 had diminished to 4 and those remaining had no desire to go to bed yet. We went to a restaurant near my apartment that has decent food and more importantly 3L pitchers for 9000won (a little more than $8). We continued to drink and eat as the Korean version of "Cheaters" called "Bad Men" played on the little tv above our table. At one point in the evening Miranda disappeared, only to come back a few minutes later carrying 2 large packages of instant ramen that she went ahead and made at the table to eat (I still have no idea where she got hot water). Spencer and I were offered some, but we both declined since we weren't hungry. Finally at about 2am Walter and Miranda decided to call it a night so Spencer and I ran across to the small market across the street to get some Soju and orange juice. Technically you aren't supposed to mix soju with anything, but seeing as how I don't care, I wanted to make my own Korean screwdriver. The night ended with Spencer and I watching "Knocked Up" with Korean subtitles on TV until 4am.

Pictures:

Korea album:

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

The man, the myth, the legend -- Sinwoo!

http://www.facebook.com/photo.php?pid=54184320&id=8605638

3 of my students, Danny, Debbie, and Miranda

http://www.facebook.com/photo.php?pid=54184323&id=8605638

Chilled cup holders at Garten Bier

http://www.facebook.com/photo.php?pid=54184314&id=8605638

Spencer and the crazy glasses they serve in at Garten Bier

http://www.facebook.com/photo.php?pid=54184315&id=8605638

Inside Garten Bier

http://www.facebook.com/photo.php?pid=54184317&id=8605638

The hallway leading to all the norebang rooms

http://www.facebook.com/photo.php?pid=54184321&id=8605638

Inside of a Norebang room

http://www.facebook.com/photo.php?pid=54184322&id=8605638

New Friends

Thursday night I met some new friends. As I was leaving the hagwon after my last class of the night a woman was walking up the stairs. A white woman. This was the last thing I was expecting, so I couldn't help but stair a few seconds as I tried to figure out if I was hallucinating. I could tell she was a bit drunk by the way she was talking and acting, but otherwise she seemed nice. She introduced herself as Julia, and asked me if I was Josh. Apparently she used to have my job, but was now working with a different school. I told her that she was the first American I had met since I moved here, so she invited me to come out to dinner with her and her friend Kathy. We went to a dakalbi place called Gogio and had a concoction of cheese, chicken, and rice pasta. It was damn delicious. We talked and I got to know the girls and overall it was a good time. I learned a few things about some of the debaucherous nightlife I can expect to be a part of in the upcoming months. I also learned some things about the city I live in. Things such as:

1. Fights are common, almost expected. Especially when Americans are involved.

2. Cops are almost never called...and you have to earn an appearance by the boys in blue.

3. If you do happen to have the cops called, they will try to calm the parties down, but will rarely take people to jail.

4. If someone IS going to go to jail, it will usually be the younger of the two...so since I am 28 and live in a college neighborhood, that most likely will not be me.

5. If I going to get in to a fight, at least let the other person hit you first...just to be on the safe side.

I like these girls style. Kathy invited me to a pub crawl they are having in my neighborhood tonight and I am trying to go. I have a LOT of homework and reading to do first, and even as I write this..I am only doing so because I needed a break. If I do end up making it...you can look forward to a nice update about it. (I didn't make it, but at least I finished my Stats reading for the week, as well as my Marriage readings)

Racism

Jeonju is a very traditional Korean city, and as such isn't as "foreigner" friendly as Seoul. Despite being a capital city (of this province), Jeonju only has about 300 "foreigners". When Korea started pushing for it's citizens to learn English, Jeonju wasn't ready for the influx of us...so there has been and continues to be a bit of resistance. Luckily, since I do live near a college campus I am a bit sheltered from the brunt of it...but I have experienced a little bit of racism while here. To be honest, it has been relatively mild compared to some people and it doesn't really affect me. Mostly I have just had random people walk up to me and tell me "Fuck you" or they will scowl at you while giving you the dagger eyes. Hell, I've even been refused a table at a restaurant and been charged more than what I should.

Of course, this is nothing compared to what my co-worker Spencer went through. He was literally attacked by a drunk Korean man. He was walking around our neighborhood with 3 Korean friends when a drunk Korean started yelling at him. He obviously had no idea what was being said, so they kept walking. The man followed, continuing to yell the whole way. His Korean friends tried to calm the guy down and get him to leave him alone, but he wouldn't. Eventually he rushed at Spencer and started swinging. Luckily the guy was drunk so I don't even think the guy managed to hit Spencer, but he said it was a pretty tense time. Spencer was later told that the guy was yelling that his father had died in the Korean war and that he didn't understand why the country was trying to learn English and that he disagreed with having American's living in the country to teach. I am not sure what his father dying in the Korean war had anything to do with Americans...seeing as we were HELPING the South Koreans...but what can you do?

A former teacher who will remain nameless once tried to get a hooker in Korea. Prostitution is illegal in Korea but is still pretty common. There are known brothels throughout the country, but the police don't do anything to stop it. So this former teacher went to one of these houses of ill repute and decided to try and see what he could get. Unfortunately for him, he was refused at the door because "This is Korea! We are for Korean men!". This of course has now been officially adopted by Spencer and Walter (and now myself) to be the appropriate response whenever something doesn't make sense. "This is Korea!" (to be said with an angry voice in a Korean accent).

In my class on Friday we had "Free talk" which means the students can talk about anything they would like. One of the students, by far my youngest (about 9) said that she wished she could get plastic surgery because her cheeks were too puffy and her skin was too light. I told her that as she got older her cheeks would be less puffy, and that her skin was just fine. This then transitioned over to talking about how Korean men only dated beautiful women and that is why a lot of girls are getting plastic surgery. Being beautiful is VERY important (as was explained to me...EVERY celebrity in Korea has tons of plastic surgery). So in passing I said "Well, maybe you will fall in love with an American man, I have yet to see an unattractive Korean, so I know my compatriots would feel the same way". This was of course met with head shakes because as I was quickly informed that marrying a non-Korean was unacceptable and very much so frowned upon in the country. Korea is a very conservative culture, and from what I was told, American men are too liberal when it comes to sex by Korean standards.

My Eyes

Out of the blue on Friday one of my older male students told me I have beautiful eyes. This of course made me laugh and I said "what?!". The rest of the class agreed that I had beautiful eyes, so I kind of hammed it up a bit by dramatically removing my glasses and telling the class how my eyes were as blue as the sea and by far my best feature. Imagine my dismay then when as soon as I removed my glasses the girl directly to my left turned her head away from me. I asked her what was the problem and she just kind of giggled and wouldn't look in my direction. One of the students then told me that she thought my eyes were too beautiful and that she couldn't look at me without my glasses on. So to make her more comfortable I put my glasses on and we continued the class. I was confused as to what that reaction meant so I asked another student in class and he just said "thats how girls are". I asked if she had a crush on me or something (I was still very confused) to which he responded "no, no, no, no, no...that's just how girls are". Pretty damn random, huh?

Oh, by the way....Korea is trying to replace me with a robot

http://www.koreatimes.co.kr/www/news/biz/2010/01/123_59809.html

The Most Emasculating Fork in the Universe

So if you don't know...I don't much like to cook. Now, if you couple that with the fact that I can't read Korean and eating out is unbelievably cheap, you can pretty much see why I haven't made a "home-cooked meal" yet. That being said, forks are not common here. I've been practicing with chopsticks and have started to get pretty decent with them. I can even eat noodles with them! So today I decided to try out a place I had walked by every day for the last week. They have these frying pans in the middle of your table and they cook the food right in front of you. It's pretty cool because they are damn good with their little spatulas and it's quite entertaining. So while this stuff is cooking, they brought out the typical kimchis and a small salad. I finish watching this guy cook my meal (which all told cost me only 6000won and included a soda), the manager brings me over a fork and puts it down on my table.

Now, we aren't talking about a regular fork here. We're talking a fork that is obviously meant for a small child. This thing is yellow, thick plastic, and is covered in pictures of cartoon Asian children. Let's not forget that I am sitting alone in this restaurant too. I hate eating out alone but it has become a necessity as the only American I have met here is my co-worker Spencer and he has a life too. Now, like I said earlier my chopstick skills have been getting pretty good...but unfortunately how to eat rice still eludes me. I gave it a few weak attempts, put my chopsticks down, and stared at the fork. I get stared at everywhere I go here...I am one of the VERY few Americans in Jeonju, as well as the fact that I am about 4 inches taller and quite a bit heavier than everyone here....so I can feel the eyes on me. Eventually my desire to finish my meal won out, so I defeatedly picked up the fork and began to eat my lunch. Every few minutes I switched back to my chopsticks hoping to score a few points with the Koreans watching me. At least I tried right?

I am very much so looking forward to my books being delivered in a few days so at least I can read textbooks while I eat...if only to give the illusion that I am not some pathetic lonely American with no friends (which I am!).

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