Pizza Etang, Love for Women

To enter my apartment building one has to enter a code at the main entrance. This system was working fine until a couple of days ago, suddenly it went crazy and started beeping at me even though I had entered the correct code (it was a really easy number) and it wasn’t just me that it started to hate, it hated everybody, at all hours the night when ever somebody came home (and people in my building have weird hours) the stupid thing beeped and beeped. The sound can be heard through the whole building. Finally, on Friday morning, they put in a new system. I was headed down for my morning walk, and the landlord (maybe) and a guy were working on installing the new system. They tired to explain to me what they were doing, as if it wasn’t totally obvious, and then had to tell me the new code and how to enter it into the new keypad.

So, I finally learned the code, ran back up to my apartment to write it down, it is four digits, four different digits, you know how those go. I left for my walk and was quite far from home when I realized that I had left the paper with the code in my apartment. I was pretty sure that I at least remembered what the four numbers were and would eventually enter the right combination. I carried on. When I got back to my apartment, I had was about to enter the code into the newly installed system, and touched the freashly calked edge. Good job Dee. I did enter the correct numbers in the correct order on the first try, but was covered in a black slimly calk that took a really long time to wash off. I made the mistake of using water instead of just wiping it off with towel or something first. I ruined my nail brush. Mom, could you bring me new Lee Valley nail brush when you come?

On Friday night, Sally and I went to the Lotte Cinema in Nowan to see Antique, a film about a man who opens a cake shop and the three dudes who work for him. One a gay pastry chef who was rejected by the cake shop owner in high school, a former boxer who gets paid in pastries, and mysterious dude from the owners past. The film was in Korean, so although we got the gist of the story, many of the details were lost on us. I looked forward to the DVD release, when we can watch it with subtitles. I still really enjoyed it though, because I couldn’t rely on words, I really had to pay attention to body language. It was really interesting. I think it is adapted from a manga series. I assume that all of the characters eventually turn out to be gay. In my opinion, there was not nearly enough guy on guy action.

The movie was set in modern Seoul. It was beneficial to see some the scenes that happened in people’s houses. I finally figured out how to use the little pieces of seaweed paper, I have always wondered and the sushi restaurant that Sally and I eat at sometimes always gives us a free pack of it when we eat there. Usually I just eat it plain as a snack, but in the movie, they ate it with rice, so on Saturday, I had to pick up a few groceries, which included seaweed paper.

Now I have three different kinds of seaweed products in my cupboard. Seaweed with sesame oil, also supposed to eaten with rice or in soup, but it is tasty snack. Also, I have seaweed squares that are supposed to be eaten plain, but I don’t really like them so I cut them up in to my noodles or put them in my omelets. Seaweed is super healthy, and super cheap here. It will one of the things I miss at home, where I assume it is considerable more expensive, but maybe not, I know that it is easily available.

On Saturday, during the day, I went for another ambling walk and found a really cool park with some kind of intense hiking trails around burial mounds. It was really cool, I didn’t venture too far because I didn’t want to get lost in the trails. I have a very bad sense of direction. I think that the area is not too big, because it is still in the city, but there were times while I was walking that I couldn’t even hear traffic. Finding stuff like that make me so thankful that I don’ t live in the city centre where I would never really be away from people or city noise.

Saturday evening, Sally and I walked to Chang-dong, one subway station over. There are lots of stores and vendors right by the subway, we wanted to check it out and get some street food. In one shop I finally found an incense holder that satisfies my incense needs. I am very pleased. After Chang-dong we walked over to Nowan. We browsed a bit in the Lotte department store. Lotte is the big everything brand here in Korea. They do food, amusement parks, clothing, household items, grocery stores, movie theaters, and huge departments stores. This one is 12 floors and has labels and name brands enough to make you puke Gucci. Sally bought an Anne Kline purse about 80,000 won, about 80 bucks give or take, I’m not sure about the exchange rate anymore.

After we had our fill of the Lotte store, we headed outside and met up with Sally’s friends that I met at Halloween. Mike (Salt) was celebrating his birthday and we were called upon to help.

The festivities began with a meal that I didn’t care for on so many levels. The least digestible part was the sermon on why gay people are going to hell (HELL!). Good times with the fundamentalists. I tired to ignore the heinousness that was going on around me, these are not the type of people with whom I want to “debate”, so I tried to distract myself by watching Big Bang music videos that were playing on the TV. I get so angry, sometimes I just want to scream. I find the whole Christian anti-homosexual thing particularly distasteful because people can discuss until they are red in the face and spit is flying and it gets NO WHERE! I feel as though Christianity is supposed to be about love and there was no love in that conversation. As far as I’m concerned (which is actually very little when considering spiritual things) live and let live and let god sort it out in the end. Furthermore, the LGBT community is not going to disappear because a bunch of stupid assholes take issue with a life style that does not affect them. Being gay hurts no one, really, examine that for a moment. The only people that are hurt those that are narrow minded enough to think it hurts. It doesn’t, people should be happy for those who have the courage to come out and live a life that is not actually lie, as it would be to pretend to be straight. I’m sure I’m not making any sense; I was just so outraged after being forced to listen to that bullshit for so long.

Anyway, the evening wasn’t a total bust, after supper we went to the Dragon Bar in Nowan and they do a rad fire and alcohol show for birthdays. There all sorts of cute bar tenders (one totally looked like G Dragon from Big Bang) spinning bottles and blowing fire. It was real neat. And I had a good conversation about female genital mutilation with a girl who is very passionate about the subject, and she is educated in the matter not just someone who kind of knows about it and thinks it’s stupid (It is beyond stupid, but she can actually tell you why).

After the Dragon Bar we went to a Hookah Bar and smoked peppermint Hookah. I don’t really like Hookah, it makes feel gross in the head and in the stomach. It just doesn’t do it for me, but I like blowing the smoke out of my nose. It feels cool. I bet Big Bang likes to smoke Hookah, it’s bad ass without actually being dangerous. I broke the shoehorn as we were leaving, I was mortified, wishing a hole would open up in the ground and suck me in. Alas, everybody assured me it was only a cheap plastic shoehorn and I needn’t be distraught. Still was though.

After hookah, we made our way over to a noraebang for some songs and such. Alas, no cheesy music videos this time. Finally we called it a night or morning or whatever. Sally and I caught a cab, wading through the drunk college students, mostly groups of boys leaning on one another. They hold each other’s hair while they puke and give gentle back rubs. Korean boys are so cute, even the drunk ones. And don’t let Big Bang fool you; Korean boys are really quite docile creatures, lovers not haters.

On Sunday, I woke up and after I got over the initial “ohhhh it’s Monday” I realized that I had the whole day to do NOTHING! No plans, no arrangements, no where to be and no one to meet. It was quite liberating and meant a lot of pressure to live it up. So, I hauled out my trusty Rough Guide to Korea and pulled out my subway map to plan my afternoon. I had read that Hongdae is kind of a cool place to hang during the day too, so I finally I decided to just go there. Exit five form the Hongik university station took me to the most magical place on earth. Well not really, but it was pretty rad, I found these awesome Cherry Tree Lane (before it got lame) type shops and bought sticky notes that look like toast and fried eggs. There was other more awesome stuff that I just really didn’t need.

There were also a lot of cool clothing stores, that I could not bring myself to even peak in, I am ashamed of my very non-Korean body and fear the judgment of sales girls and worse, fear finding the most awesome thing and not fitting or not affording. I have steered clear of any clothing store, save American Apparel, since I arrived here. Soon, I will venture into one and probably regret it. I don’t even like dealing with sales girls in boutiques in Winnipeg. Also, there were a number of interesting looking restaurants, many street food vendors, some tearooms, and coffee shops. It was totally hopping with young hip university students and some sort of Harley Davidson convention or something Random.

I walked around in circles for a bit, missing Bryan; there were many couples in the area. I might just find myself a boyfriend well I’m here, just to pass the time. The boys here always pay and they carry their girlfriends purses as well as their own. And today, I saw a couple the defied the rule, a Korean guy with a white girl; that never happens, it gave me hope for the white girls in Seoul looking for love, I have love so can only play a supporting role in the romance of others, I guess.

After Hongdae I still had lots of time because I had no where to go. I stopped in Hyehwa on my way home, wandered around American Apparel. Don’t worry, I didn’t buy anything, it is more expensive than at home, I think. Again, I don’t actually know what the exchange rate is now. Ok, I just checked and actually, the prices are about the same right now because the exchange rate is not very good. Speaking of crappy exchange rates, I’m going to be able to put as much towards my student loans as I would ideally like. Oh well, it’s the experience that matters.

I got home made rice and ate it with seaweed paper and tuna, like my own little kimbob. And joy upon joys, discovered that I am again receiving a working Internet signal. Woot Woot. I assume that soon it will stop working, but this evening it has consistently worked I have enjoyed watching Firefly again and youtubing Big Bang music videos.

I was talking with my students on Friday and one girl told me that she was going to see Big Bang this weekend. She was real excited. I have heard my students speak of this "band” before, I decided that I should check them out. During my break I youtubed them and fell in love, but not after one of the older interns came in and caught me and Sally watching the music video for Haru Haru. I haven’t decided if my favourite is Top or G Dragon. Big Bang, Korea’s answer to Boy Bands. And, as usual, they do it better.

Again, I apologize for the long winded blog and hope that at least one person reads to the end. I almost felt homesick the other day when I saw a group of boys skateboarding in the subway station, there are not many skateboards around only real cool rollerbladers. Almost, but not quite. I still love it here, but am looking foward to the fam's christmas visit.

Dee

November 23, 2008