Saturday night was the night of the Korean soccer match against Uruguay. It started at 11:00 pm and our curfew was pushed back to 3 after everyone had snuck out for the last game. I was hesitant to go to watch the match at city hall as I've never been a huge fan of soccer or huge crowds, but I somehow ended up right in the middle of it all with my friends Tim and Melissa. Now Melissa is half-korean girl who is apparently irresistible to all men. Haha. Everywhere we go, guys approach us asking if they can have pictures with her. During the match she caused quite a riot. A group of young Korean men pulled Tim and I into a giant huddle surrounding her and we all began jumping in a circle and singing Korean cheers.
A sea of Korean spectators at City Hall
Melissa and I at the game 대한민국!!!
The game was actually very exciting and I had an excellent time screaming the Korean chants and making friends with all of the other spectators (Koreans are always very surprised to hear white people speaking Korean and invariably want to "become your friend"). Once the game was over though we somberly retreated back to our dorm in 신촌 (Korea had lost 2:1).
Sunday afternoon we tried to go out to lunch, but it turns out almost everything in Korea closes on Sundays so the town was dead. We found a little 만두 (dumpling) shop and ate. I don't know if I mentioned it before, but Korean food is extremely delicious and extremely cheap, with meals usually costing three or four dollars. That night the entire immersion program went out to a bar and met up with some Korean friends. Everything was still pretty deserted so my friends Tim, Sarah and I went to a 노래방 (Korean Karaoke room) for an hour in hopes that things would pick up. They didn't... and since we had missed curfew we were left to wander the streets of Seoul until the dorm re-opened at 5:00. For the last couple hours we went to a DVD방 where you can rent a room for $5. You pick out a movie and are shown to a private room with a huge couch with soft cushions where you can sleep/watch the movie. We watched the movie Fame as we rested and at five we headed for home.
My 떡 만두 국 (Rice Cake and Dumpling Soup)
Jasmine with her 돌솥 비빔빕 (rice with beef and vegetables in a very hot stone bowl)
Daniel got the same thing but with tuna instead of beef
The next day I was finally able to go and get a phone. My friend Debbie who speaks pretty fluent Korean came along and dealt with the woman working to make sure I wasn't taken advantage of. Apparently I hit the mother lode as my phone has every feature imaginable (subway maps, Korean to English dictionary, video phone capabilities, etc), it's sleek and new AND it was cheaper than everyone else's. Apparently waiting the extra week (not being lazy...) payed off. So if you want to call me from Skype my number is (010)8072-0034.
As always thank you for your loyalty to my blog. Comments are greatly appreciated so please tell me what you think and ask me questions. You might just get a shout out in my next entry. ;-)
One last photo. Me and the gang playing ping pong in the basement:
2 comments:
The photos really give us a feel for your experiences, although I'm concerned about the mural on the wall behind the pingpong table.
Pamela
oh that saturday was, in some aspect, very disappointing day... i went out to the street for soccer game for the first time in my life, and the korean team lost.. well the game was pretty intense and exciting though.. =) after that i ended up being stranded somewhere beetween my home and seoul, so i had to grab a taxi to get back to my home..lol
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