Seoul Searchin

I once thought there was nothing left in Korea for me to discover. Over two or three summers, I had seen all the sights I had wanted to see, tried all the hot red spicy food I had wanted to try, sang all the Norebang pop songs I wanted to sing. I felt satisfied with my experiences from the Land of Morning Calm, and felt there was not much else I could learn--before learning more of the language.

So, while searching for greatness during late mud season, I listened to the loudest of all wispers in my head. It was the voice that desperately wanted to name all the vegetables in the refrigerator by their Korean names; the voice that pronounced ice cream with five syllables, adding an gut punching "uh" sound at the end (as in typical Korean pronunciation of English words). After browsing a variety of job listings, finding nothing particular to get excited about, I took one last look at my estimation of potential summer earnings in Korea, and booked a plane ticket departing two weeks later.

The first day in Korea, I signed up for Korean classes.

.....

So, what does Korea have to offer this time around?
-Another round of garlic and samgyopsal. Kogi Kogi Samgyopsal. The sour taste of yogurt ice cream. Milkshake in a bag. Banana milk. Mmmm....

(potbingsu)
-The comforts of a home away from home. I've got a visa, a bank card, and a cell phone (ghetto as it may be). Korea is still a challenging and foreign place to me, albeit, a nice spot to resume my summer routine.

-Korean class, aptly titled Survival Korean 101 (After learning how to read and mastering vocabulary in food and shopping, verbs and sentences seemed to be the next big thing...)

-A chance to go somewhere and leave the guidebook at home. There is no longer a magical list of things to do and see. This time, I can just be. I'll go to Myeong Dong or Hongdae when I get paid, when I need clothes. No need to just go there just to "experience it".


An Update:
I'm doing good. Living a surprisingly lavish life, while also tortuously waiting for my monthly paycheck to come (three days left). I have not yet been shopping, but still find ways to spend my money. I often buy an obligatory frappuccino at Tea & Purple so I can sit in a comfortable chair and internet my heart out! Korean class is good. I enjoy the opportunity to understand and use Korean. I'm not quite a star student but I do my best, and that's what counts! I joined a gym. More on that next time.

Working at Hoyah is good, like clockwork, in a comforting way.

My students are great, some funny, some sweet, some super awkward, but always an entertaining subject of conversation between myself and my good friend, roommate, and fellow coworker Paul / "Pole".



Korea this time has been everything but carefree summer fun. With continued trips to the ear, nose & throat specialist, I try not to cry everytime he tells me: no spicy food, no fried food, no drinking and worst of all, no chatting! It may have killed me if it were my first summer in Korea, but for a fourth go, I suppose I can handle having a less exciting trip. In fact, I haven't even left Gangnam or crossed the Han river once since I started working. I'm a 9-5 kinda girl now. Well, more like a 7-8 (7AM to 8PM) kinda girl on some days. More next time...


Meanwhile, for those of you who have not been here to visit yet, a little taste of Korea is in order. Checkout this episode of Anthony Bourdain's No Reservations on the Travel Channel on YouTUBE Korea:

Part 1
http://kr.youtube.com/watch?v=y-9SOq_QgsQ&feature=related

Part 2
http://kr.youtube.com/watch?v=NDrH6bBCbHA&feature=related

Part 3
http://kr.youtube.com/watch?v=gxXatYZXrfo&NR=1

Part 4
http://kr.youtube.com/watch?v=TOs6Qf58OP4&NR=1

Part 5
http://kr.youtube.com/watch?v=3lpoGAQpj3E&feature=related