South Korea has a phenomena called ajumma. An ajumma is a woman that is older than your mom, but younger than your grandma. She dresses in bright colors, wears a hugeee visor, perms her hair into tight little black curls and doesn’t take any shit from anyone. They are tiny towers of awesome! A lot of people don't care for them, but I find them fascinating! They are likely to come at you full speed on the sidewalk with a granny cart in tow... and you better freaking move, because they will win this game of chicken every time! I've seen full grown men in business suits jump off the sidewalk to avoid collisions with an ajumma! Children are lucky to be so small and nimble, it's easy for them to dodge the ajumma bombs! They may also push you out of their way, yell at you, or even lean on you in the subway and take a nap. I believe one drooled on me last weekend, but I was too grossed out to check.
Now that we've covered the philosophy of the ajumma, I've got a great example of how these fine creatures can turn their terror into entertainment! Wednesday are elections here in Korea, and it's a whole different typing of campaigning here! Campaigning doesn't consist of speeches and kissing babies, it is chocked full of music numbers, dances, and vehicles making the rounds of every neighborhood blaring the campaign songs from their loud speakers. Sometimes these trucks park at opposite sides of intersections and have a battle of the loud speakers! Well, the ajumma plays a special role in this carefully choreographed masterpiece!
But wait, it only gets better. The campaigns are full of ajummas in uniform. The ajumma is a vital marketing tool for the politicians. They dress up in their matching shirts (blinding green, blue, or even yellow) complete with sash and oversize visor and congregate at busy intersections. Mind you Koreans walk or take public transit, so these streets are packed! If you walk by they smile and put a card in your hand. If it rains they put on parkas. There is no stopping an ajumma, so seeing gangs of them is thrilling. The best part is… they dance! The most rhythmically challenged dancing ever. Picture your white family at a wedding then take away the alcohol.
In conclusions, ajummas should be put on travel brochures for Korea. No doubt people would flock here to see these wondrous ladies in their natural habitat!
Please refer to my link for more information on the ajumma!
http://www.koreatimes.co.kr/www/news/biz/2010/03/291_61092.html
Monday, May 31, 2010
Thursday, May 27, 2010
Vacation to Wonju and games in Gangnam
I have a lot to say... but I can't right now. I'll have a big update around this time next week.
For now I'll write a little diddy about my weekend.
Friday was a day off work due to Buddha's birthday. Thankful for the day off, I planned on going to Chuncheon for the day with some friends. This city is near lakes, rivers, islands, and other beautiful scenery. It's the home of one of our favorite Korean foods, dalk galbi, and there was also a mime festival!! It sounded too good to be true, and apparently many other people agreed... because all the buses were sold out! Ahhh!
Luckily we had a koream with us to converse with the sales agent about alternative plans. The only place that wasn't sold out was a city called Wonju. The fact it was the only place with tickets available should have been a pretty good indicator of things to come. After our nearly 5 hour bus ride, that should have taken 1.5 hours.... we arrived in Wonju. We walked out of the bus terminal and asked some foreigners we spotted what there is to do. Thy laughed and said "nothing... that's why we are going to the bus terminal... our advice is to hop on a bus and head somewhere else." We thought they we being dramatic so we decided to get some lunch. We ate dalk galbi (although I'm sure it wasn't as good as chuncheon) and then searched for something, anything to do!! Turns out they were right. We spent the rest of the day drinking in front of a convenience store. The company was perfect, so really it turned out just fine. It was nice to leave the city!!
The weekend continued to be a "plan b" weekend when our plans to drink and sunbathe by the river on Saturday were foiled by a rainstorm! I decided to meet up with friends and try out a new board-game cafe. Since games are so expensive here, a lot of Koreans just go to a cafe that specializes in games to play there. We opted for Korean Monopoly and it was awesome! The game lasted around 4 hours, but we were so into it that it was fun! After the cafe it was late and we were hungry! I tried some new Korean food, then we spent the rest of the evening drinking on a patio in Gangnam while the rain poured down around us. It was actually a really fun day, despite our plans being rained out!
Sunday I spent the day with my best friend in Korea, Michelle. We studied Korean, played on the internet, and were generally hungover and lazy. It was a great weekend!!
Tuesday, May 18, 2010
Am I good or bad....
I wonder if I'm really a good person.... like, deep down inside. Sure, I have good qualities like doing anything I can to help a friend or family member, like being a shoulder to cry on for people I love, like being compassionate for not only people I know, but the world in general. I'm a giver, I'm trustworthy..... but if you've done something to hurt me or people I love, I'm not the nicest person. I've got plenty of bad qualities, too. I'm rather selfish, I can be cold to people I don't like, and I'm stubborn as all get out, and I can be manipulative without even realizing what I'm doing. Everyone has bad qualities and good qualities, but what is the equation to figure out if I'm "good" or "bad"?
I've come to think that since I have good morals and values, it makes me a good person. But between the good and the bad choices I've made, do morals keep the scale pointed towards "good"? Hmm. Food for thought.
I wish I could select qualities I don't like myself and change them. I've been in a situation where I can see the ugly head of one of my bad qualities emerging from my strained smile... and just that like, I turn into a nasty person. I know I'm doing it, I know I'll regret it later, but I'm just so blinded by anger I let myself give into the frustration/anger/or any mix of emotions. Is there a way to change yourself? I want to eliminate certain qualities and strengthen others.
I've found it helps to surround myself with good people. When others around me are genuine and good, I have no need for the nasty side to show up. It's been kind of nice taking a break from my life in the US. I've been able to gain some perspective into what I was doing and who I was(am). I've also been able to be removed enough from the people I was spending time with the evaluate their true colors. It's amazing when I see some of their ramblings on the internet... I just sit back and think "THIS is who I was associating myself with?!?!" While most of my friends I've had for years and I know they are the right kind of people for me, there are others I'll have to steer clear of when I return to AZ. It's amazing that a lot of them are years older than me, but going out every night, not progressing with any sort of career or career goals, and no real plans to get their shit together. Some of these people have kids, and that's the saddest part. The kids are being punished because their parents shouldn't have had kids to begin with. I just want to tell them to grow up, stop partying every night, and read their kid a bedtime story.
Ok, thats enough for now.
xo
I've come to think that since I have good morals and values, it makes me a good person. But between the good and the bad choices I've made, do morals keep the scale pointed towards "good"? Hmm. Food for thought.
I wish I could select qualities I don't like myself and change them. I've been in a situation where I can see the ugly head of one of my bad qualities emerging from my strained smile... and just that like, I turn into a nasty person. I know I'm doing it, I know I'll regret it later, but I'm just so blinded by anger I let myself give into the frustration/anger/or any mix of emotions. Is there a way to change yourself? I want to eliminate certain qualities and strengthen others.
I've found it helps to surround myself with good people. When others around me are genuine and good, I have no need for the nasty side to show up. It's been kind of nice taking a break from my life in the US. I've been able to gain some perspective into what I was doing and who I was(am). I've also been able to be removed enough from the people I was spending time with the evaluate their true colors. It's amazing when I see some of their ramblings on the internet... I just sit back and think "THIS is who I was associating myself with?!?!" While most of my friends I've had for years and I know they are the right kind of people for me, there are others I'll have to steer clear of when I return to AZ. It's amazing that a lot of them are years older than me, but going out every night, not progressing with any sort of career or career goals, and no real plans to get their shit together. Some of these people have kids, and that's the saddest part. The kids are being punished because their parents shouldn't have had kids to begin with. I just want to tell them to grow up, stop partying every night, and read their kid a bedtime story.
Ok, thats enough for now.
xo
Friday, May 14, 2010
Ask and you shall receive....
I got what I wanted. New adventure will be coming my way. I love it when things work out without really trying.
On a HAPPY note, I'll be in Arizona for my Birthday weekend!!! YAYYYYY!!!!!
I'll only be there for 3 days, so it's going to be an action-packed crazy ride of a weekend. I can do it though, sleep is for the old!! I've got so much planned already... can't wait to see my friends and family. Can't wait to eat some mexican food and hang out by the pool!!
It's 3am... I have a busy weekend planned... I should go to bed.
xoxo
On a HAPPY note, I'll be in Arizona for my Birthday weekend!!! YAYYYYY!!!!!
I'll only be there for 3 days, so it's going to be an action-packed crazy ride of a weekend. I can do it though, sleep is for the old!! I've got so much planned already... can't wait to see my friends and family. Can't wait to eat some mexican food and hang out by the pool!!
It's 3am... I have a busy weekend planned... I should go to bed.
xoxo
Monday, May 3, 2010
Haeshindang Folk Village (penis park) and Samcheok
Finally, my much anticipated vacation is here! Spent the weekend in beautiful Samcheok with wonderful friends. The ocean was a much needed break from the cement streets that have become my life. I had never been so excited to see trees, nature, and water!
I'm going to write this blog with more detail than I normally provide because I discovered while researching this trip that the majority of information available is on blogs like my own. Also, a lot of the information is outdated an incorrect. So, if you came across this blog while researching your own adventure, read away. All information is up-to-date as of May 2010!
Saturday morning started early... 7am. Don't laugh... we don't get home from work to eat dinner/shower/pack until 11:30pm! Nick and I met Michelle and Sandra at the Express bus terminal, which was luckily only subway stops away from my apartment! Made the morning easy to deal with. We arrived at the subway and had to navigate through the biggest subway station ever to find the bus station. It literally took us 25 mins to walk from the train to the bus station! Crazy! After purchasing our tickets (23,000w for the first-class bus, buses leave at least once an hour) we settled into our seats for the 4 hour trek to Samcheok.
The bus ride was pretty painless.. we played video games, listened to music, and played UNO to pass the time. The rest stop was a nice break... we picked up some snacks and got to stretch our legs.
After arriving in Samcheok our first stop was the tourist information center directly outside the bus terminal, which happened to be closed. We decided to brave it on our own and start walking through town in the direction our map showed the ocean. You can't see the ocean from the bus station... so we were hoping we would end up there! After walking for 20 or so mins and having no luck, we decided to stop and ask a lady at the pharmacy if we were heading the right way. It turns out it was a much longer walk than we expected, so we hopped in a cab and rode the rest of the way. The harbor was amazing. Huge boats along side small little fishing boats, street lined with tanks of fish outside restaurants, waiting to be eaten. It was busy and smelly and wonderful! Getting towards the end of the harbor main street we got out when we saw a min-bak. A min-bak is a small guest house that is an alternative to hotels. We wanted to stay on the beach, so this was our best bet. (Note to foreigners, the min-baks are above a couple seafood restaurants and only in Korean... so if you don't speak Korean you will have a hard time locating one.) We made our way into the min-bak and uploaded our bags. We only paid 40,000w for the night... which is supppper cheap! Score!
After we were settled we jumped in another taxi and took the 5-7 min drive back downtown. We walked around a little bit and found a korean restaurant to have some lunch. Delish! We then went back to the tourist information center to get the times for the bus going to Haeshindang Folk Village (it's bus 24, comes fairly often by the car rental place with the red sign at the end of the bus terminal road... you'll see it!). After 40 minutes on a curvy road we finally arrived at the park. What other blog say is correct... the bus driver will start making a small commotion in Korean to tell people who want to go to the park to get off. You can't really see it from the road, and nothing is in English. It's by far the most popular stop at the 40 min mark, so if you see a bunch of people piling off the bus, you're probably there! Here is the entrance!
Here are some pictures we took at the park...enjoy!
After the fun day at the park we hung out on the beach waiting for the 6:30pm bus (which may be the last of the day). What I didn't see on any research for this trip is where to get the bus! You can walk up the length of the park and catch the bus at the top.... or you can exit by the beach and walk past all the fish vendors, past the light house, and out to the road. Once on the road, go right and walk for probably 5 mins until you see the bus stop on the right side. There is no sidewalk... so just watch for cars! There is a tourist info booth near the exit, but he told us the wrong information for the bus stop... so, trust him at your own risk!
Once back in Samcheok we walked around the harbor looking for dinner... which turned into quite the ordeal. Michlle and I weren't into eating raw fish or clams or squid... any of that stuff! So we decided to eat ramen, and let San and Nick eat the fishy stuff. Some of the restaurants we looked at were $150 for some fish! Holy moly... you think it'd be cheaper on the beach! We opted for eating at the restaurant under our min-bak for a reasonable price, and they let Michelle and I bring outside food to the table so we could all eat together. They were really nice!
Staying the night in the min-bak was interesting. They had the heat on, so the floor was scorching hot! It wouldn't have been bad if the weather hadn't have been so warm! Some drunk/rowdy guys made quite the racket at 3am... but other than that the night was pretty uneventful. Our TV even had English shows on!
Sunday was one mis-hap after another, but turned into a really fun day. We got some breakfast at Dunkin Donuts in town... then went to catch the bus to the cave systems near Samcheok. Well, not one.. but two people told us the wrong place to wait for the bus... so we ended up missing it. The next bus wasn't for hours, so we decided to make a plan B. We started out at the Buddhist Temple, which was windy and crisp and beautiful to look at!
Next stop was the Beach Sculpture Park. Don't let the name fool you... it's actually on a cliff overlooking the ocean. Sometimes Koreans confuse beach and ocean... blah. After the luster wore off (20 mins) we caught a taxi back to the min-bak to gather our bags. Next was some yummy lunch, a little shopping, then back to the bus terminal. The ride was quiet. Played a few games, napped a little, snacked a little.
So, the weekend was amazing.... I'm SOOO happy we went. It was the perfect break.
<3
These are only a few of the 200 pics we took over the weekend... check my facebook for the whole she-bang!
I'm going to write this blog with more detail than I normally provide because I discovered while researching this trip that the majority of information available is on blogs like my own. Also, a lot of the information is outdated an incorrect. So, if you came across this blog while researching your own adventure, read away. All information is up-to-date as of May 2010!
Saturday morning started early... 7am. Don't laugh... we don't get home from work to eat dinner/shower/pack until 11:30pm! Nick and I met Michelle and Sandra at the Express bus terminal, which was luckily only subway stops away from my apartment! Made the morning easy to deal with. We arrived at the subway and had to navigate through the biggest subway station ever to find the bus station. It literally took us 25 mins to walk from the train to the bus station! Crazy! After purchasing our tickets (23,000w for the first-class bus, buses leave at least once an hour) we settled into our seats for the 4 hour trek to Samcheok.
The bus ride was pretty painless.. we played video games, listened to music, and played UNO to pass the time. The rest stop was a nice break... we picked up some snacks and got to stretch our legs.
After arriving in Samcheok our first stop was the tourist information center directly outside the bus terminal, which happened to be closed. We decided to brave it on our own and start walking through town in the direction our map showed the ocean. You can't see the ocean from the bus station... so we were hoping we would end up there! After walking for 20 or so mins and having no luck, we decided to stop and ask a lady at the pharmacy if we were heading the right way. It turns out it was a much longer walk than we expected, so we hopped in a cab and rode the rest of the way. The harbor was amazing. Huge boats along side small little fishing boats, street lined with tanks of fish outside restaurants, waiting to be eaten. It was busy and smelly and wonderful! Getting towards the end of the harbor main street we got out when we saw a min-bak. A min-bak is a small guest house that is an alternative to hotels. We wanted to stay on the beach, so this was our best bet. (Note to foreigners, the min-baks are above a couple seafood restaurants and only in Korean... so if you don't speak Korean you will have a hard time locating one.) We made our way into the min-bak and uploaded our bags. We only paid 40,000w for the night... which is supppper cheap! Score!
After we were settled we jumped in another taxi and took the 5-7 min drive back downtown. We walked around a little bit and found a korean restaurant to have some lunch. Delish! We then went back to the tourist information center to get the times for the bus going to Haeshindang Folk Village (it's bus 24, comes fairly often by the car rental place with the red sign at the end of the bus terminal road... you'll see it!). After 40 minutes on a curvy road we finally arrived at the park. What other blog say is correct... the bus driver will start making a small commotion in Korean to tell people who want to go to the park to get off. You can't really see it from the road, and nothing is in English. It's by far the most popular stop at the 40 min mark, so if you see a bunch of people piling off the bus, you're probably there! Here is the entrance!
Here are some pictures we took at the park...enjoy!
After the fun day at the park we hung out on the beach waiting for the 6:30pm bus (which may be the last of the day). What I didn't see on any research for this trip is where to get the bus! You can walk up the length of the park and catch the bus at the top.... or you can exit by the beach and walk past all the fish vendors, past the light house, and out to the road. Once on the road, go right and walk for probably 5 mins until you see the bus stop on the right side. There is no sidewalk... so just watch for cars! There is a tourist info booth near the exit, but he told us the wrong information for the bus stop... so, trust him at your own risk!
Once back in Samcheok we walked around the harbor looking for dinner... which turned into quite the ordeal. Michlle and I weren't into eating raw fish or clams or squid... any of that stuff! So we decided to eat ramen, and let San and Nick eat the fishy stuff. Some of the restaurants we looked at were $150 for some fish! Holy moly... you think it'd be cheaper on the beach! We opted for eating at the restaurant under our min-bak for a reasonable price, and they let Michelle and I bring outside food to the table so we could all eat together. They were really nice!
Staying the night in the min-bak was interesting. They had the heat on, so the floor was scorching hot! It wouldn't have been bad if the weather hadn't have been so warm! Some drunk/rowdy guys made quite the racket at 3am... but other than that the night was pretty uneventful. Our TV even had English shows on!
Sunday was one mis-hap after another, but turned into a really fun day. We got some breakfast at Dunkin Donuts in town... then went to catch the bus to the cave systems near Samcheok. Well, not one.. but two people told us the wrong place to wait for the bus... so we ended up missing it. The next bus wasn't for hours, so we decided to make a plan B. We started out at the Buddhist Temple, which was windy and crisp and beautiful to look at!
Next stop was the Beach Sculpture Park. Don't let the name fool you... it's actually on a cliff overlooking the ocean. Sometimes Koreans confuse beach and ocean... blah. After the luster wore off (20 mins) we caught a taxi back to the min-bak to gather our bags. Next was some yummy lunch, a little shopping, then back to the bus terminal. The ride was quiet. Played a few games, napped a little, snacked a little.
So, the weekend was amazing.... I'm SOOO happy we went. It was the perfect break.
<3
These are only a few of the 200 pics we took over the weekend... check my facebook for the whole she-bang!
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