So, Friday afternoon I remember that I hadn't yet called Mr Lee to confirm our weekend plans! Oh no! He'd explained to me at LEAST half a dozen times how to correctly place a phone call, and when I should be calling him (and how long to wait before calling again, if he didn't answer the first time), and here I almost forget! Anca and I go to Skype him, only to realize that her computer battery is kaput. Neither of us have cell phones, and my computer hadn't been working for the past several weeks, so we thought we were stuck. (what DID the world do before phones???) Anyways, I remembered that there was a phone in our work office, on the floor right next to my desk. Why it was there (hooked up and then placed on the ground when there are half a dozen empty desks in the room), well, I'm actually just NOW questioning that... I don't know. Regardless, the phone works and I called Mr Lee.
"Juliet? .....Juliet? .....Juliet! Ah! I been waiting so long your phone call! You take too long!" (As far as I'd understood it, our plan was to call Friday afternoon...) "I so sorry to inform you! I so busy this weekend! I tell you before, I have many friends, many friends right? I so busy on the Saturday and the Sunday. But Sunday at 5 o'clock pm, 5 o'clock pm, you call me and we take the dinner together. Yes? Ok, you tell your friend, I so sooo sorry. BYE!"
My side of the conversation sounded like this "Mr Lee? Hi Mr Lee! it's Julia!........ohhhh... ok!..........ok. uh, bye!" But we had a plan, and we're sticking to it!
Oh, who are kidding? It's Mr Lee! Where he's involved, sticking to the plan doesn't happen! Sunday rolls around, and I'm lounging around in my pj's at the early hour of 3pm, when my doorbell rings. I'm thinking, how the heck does Mr Lee know which apartment is mine???
PSYCHE!
It wasn't Mr Lee (did I getcha??) It was Anca. She'd been 'downtown' at a coffee shop and ran into Mr Lee as she was leaving. He told her "I say 5 o'clock, but the earlier the better! How you get here? By yourself? Where's Juliet? You buy groceries? How long that take? One hour? Not so bad. Ok, alright. I be here."
So we head downtown to find Mr Lee hanging out at the Zoo Coffee, reading, with an empty ice cream cup sitting in front of him. Upon our arrival, he immediately takes charge: "Oh! I think it is too early to take the dinner. What is the hour? Ah, here! Yes, yes 4 o'clock pm.... too early for the dinner. Let's have a coffee, or a, uh, what is that called? (ice cream) Ah! Yes the ice cream! Let's take that! Come, come! What do you like? Go sit, he needs time to make it. Water? There's no water. I tell the boy go fill up the water pitcher. No cups! Here, one cup of water. Lazy boy.. This boy so lazy! I like this, yes? What you call it? The ice cream? Yes, I think three, four times a day I take the ice cream. It is good, I think."
After sorting out the ice cream and the water and making sure the coffee shop was running at full efficiency, Mr Lee caught us up on his week. "Every day! Every day I do the golf! So nice, Korea is for the golf! More than thirty years I play the golf! You play the golf? (my response: yes. but only mini-golf) Yeah?! You?! Oh. The what? Mini-golf? No good, no good. I thought I take you golfing, but that is not golf. Just mini. This week, golfing everyday. Tomorrow I take a car to the east coast. You know east? North, south, west, east. EAST! You know? My friend, he has house there. I take car there tomorrow, and we golf everyday. Maybe. Maybe three, maybe four days, I dunno! Golf is good!"
I mention that golf is really good for his health, that it helps build muscle. His response "Maybe for you! Me? I don't need!"
After finishing our ice cream, it's time to head to dinner. Mr Lee wanted us to try Chinese food, so takes us to a Chinese restaurant in the same mall we usually head to. "See! Look at their clothes! Everyone is dressed like a Chinese! That's how it's Chinese restaurant."
The food was excellent, as always. We sampled some Chinese liquor (because it helps digestion, duh). I was definitely not a fan. It tasted like a combination of anise flavored vodka mixed with rubbing alcohol and a splash of gasoline. That's just my opinion though. Mr Lee declared that "Oh! Not so bad, not so bad. Like soju, I think. Not strong at all. Let me see. Yes, 38% of the alcohol, not so strong. Just like the water."
We had a nice time, and enjoyed each other's company. However, the whole evening, Mr Lee seemed a little off, a little down. Not quite his usual chatty self. Maybe he was tired, maybe a little hungover. (he was busy Saturday and Sunday because a good friend had come up to stay with him from Busan... which, in my understanding, means they were boozing it up on Saturday.) Maybe he was a little (a lot) sad. Whatever it was, I'm glad he wasn't eating dinner alone.
Tuesday, February 28, 2012
Monday, February 20, 2012
The Song has Ended, but the Melody Lingers On....
So, yes, I did spend the majority of Saturday on the floor. However, I was able to pull myself together later in the afternoon. Lucky thing too, because I had plans with the venerated Mr Lee! And this time, I got to bring my "tall friend, the one with the big smile!"
Let's back up a bit. A few weeks ago, Mr Lee stopped in at my school. He wanted to check up on things there, make sure it was a respectable place, and let his presence be known. He talked to the front desk teacher, and also spoke with my boss. He told them that he was "a friend of my father's, from the United States". He also made it very clear that he was a retired Colonel from the Korean Marines, and is (was?) well-connected with the Korean Government. In short, he basically threatened my boss. While he was there, he also briefly met the other English teacher, Anca. I think her presence surprised and concerned him. Probably he was thinking something along the lines of, 'Oh no!Another North American girl bumbling around Korea! I have to make sure she's okay too! Must add her to my project list! Must get all the ducklings in a row!'
So Anca and I meet Mr Lee in front of the EMart (the town landmark, around which, all activities are planned). He says he wants to go to Jukjeon Station because where we are is "too country. Nothing good here". Oh jeez, even Mr Lee hates our town. It is really bad here... So the three of us hop in a cab, and head to good ol' Jukjeon. The cab driver recommended a restaurant with traditional Korean food to Mr Lee ("Ah! Korean cab driver know EVERYTHING! Number one cab driver!"). When we get to Jukjeon though, we have trouble actually locating the restaurant, but no worries, because there are tons to choose from! Mr Lee had declared earlier "There are all kinds of food... Chinese food, Japanese food, Korean food, we can eat all the different kinds of food. But today, we eat Korean food, because it's best!" The restaurant he ends up choosing though, is "not Korean! not Japanese! a little of both! and better!" Right. Well, whatever it is, it tastes awesome.
Dinner was really nice, and the conversation was excellent (as always, with Mr Lee). Some of the notable topics include:
Soju: "DIGESTION! You know? Digestion? Soju is so good for it! Especially when you're eating the meat! I drink soju every day with my food, for the digestion. Not high alcohol. Not much at all! Less then twenty, less then ten! Maybe five, an alcohol of five. Just like drinking water, but good for digestion! Whiskey? Uggh! Whiskey very strong, very good, but very strong. Be careful with whiskey!"
(note: soju is usually around 40 proof. that is higher then water)
Beggars: "My wife you know, when she sees beggars she gives them everytime five dollars. Everytime, five dollars, five dollars, five dollars. Me, I only give one dollar. But then, you know what I do? I call the government. And I tell them, I'm Retired Colonel, you know? I call the government and I tell them 'you need to do something for these beggars!' And so, when I see the beggars I only give them one dollar, but I tell them, 'don't worry! I told the government about you!'
Making phone calls: "Yesterday, you try to call me. I see, four times, you try to call me. But I don't hear my phone ringing. So, you know what you do when that happens? If you call me, and I no answer? Wait, maybe ten, no maybe fifteen minutes, then try calling again. Maybe forty minutes. But call again! Sometimes cannot hear the phone ringing. Don't want to make the phone louder, no good. So, you need to call again, and keep calling until I answer. What time you done with yoga? Maybe some days after yoga, you can call then too? Maybe you two are hungry, and want to eat the food after yoga? Do not hesitate. Call me! Understand? And keeping calling until I answer!"
My Dad: (I gave Mr Lee my dad's Tae Kwon Do business card) "Ah! Tae Kwon Do? Your Dad is Tae Kwon Do? Ohhhhhh. {reading under his breath} Oh! Fifth degree black belt! Oh! Fifth degree! I- fourth degree, your dad- fifth degree! Ohhhhh! Wow! Ok, ok. Ok, ok. You tell your father, you tell him, 'no worries!' Ok? You tell him, in Korea, I be your father, ok? Ok, you make sure you tell him. Your parents, you know, they are probably in the US being worried. You tell them, no more. I am your father. Yes. Ok. Yes, I think your father and I are good friends. I think we will be good friends, your father and I. Good man. (yes, he is) Ah! Madison, Wisconsin! I go there and be good friends with your dad! Ah ha, fifth degree Tae Kwon Do. Ok, good."
And later... Mr Lee shared something incredibly surprising.
"Let me be frank. I tell you before that I have wife, and that she back in California. But two months ago, Jesus Christ came down and he took her away. She pass away. She leave me to go to be with God. Ahhh yes. Ok, no. Ok, ok. And my son, I tell you about my son, the smart one? Well, three years ago he buy us a house in California. Two bedroom, two bathroom. Very nice house. But big house. Too big! And now, too big for me alone in the house. So I come to Korea. I come here four, maybe five weeks ago..... Here! Here is photo of my wife and me. Our first date. Before we were married even! We married so long, maybe fifty years, almost. I think that is good; I think that is good enough. Long time. And so, I tell you before, I have many friends in Korea. Many, many friends. But I don't see my friends. They all want to talk about my wife, want to talk about the past. But I just want to put that back there, I can't talk about it with them. Not ready to see them. In a few months, maybe. But not now....But you, it's okay. I can talk to you about this and it's okay. It makes me happy. We can do the sightseeing, and eat the good food, and visit Seoul City, and I feel good... And you know, my wife, she was school teacher too. She taught the home economics. And I think it's so good, you two, coming over to teach English to the young guys. And I think, I want to help you, I want to make sure you are okay. And I think, my wife, she wants that. Maybe my wife is who's telling me to do this, because she's a good person."
I think it's Mr Lee who's the good person. A really good person. My heart is hurting for him.
I gave him an extra big hug when we said goodbye last night.
Let's back up a bit. A few weeks ago, Mr Lee stopped in at my school. He wanted to check up on things there, make sure it was a respectable place, and let his presence be known. He talked to the front desk teacher, and also spoke with my boss. He told them that he was "a friend of my father's, from the United States". He also made it very clear that he was a retired Colonel from the Korean Marines, and is (was?) well-connected with the Korean Government. In short, he basically threatened my boss. While he was there, he also briefly met the other English teacher, Anca. I think her presence surprised and concerned him. Probably he was thinking something along the lines of, 'Oh no!Another North American girl bumbling around Korea! I have to make sure she's okay too! Must add her to my project list! Must get all the ducklings in a row!'
So Anca and I meet Mr Lee in front of the EMart (the town landmark, around which, all activities are planned). He says he wants to go to Jukjeon Station because where we are is "too country. Nothing good here". Oh jeez, even Mr Lee hates our town. It is really bad here... So the three of us hop in a cab, and head to good ol' Jukjeon. The cab driver recommended a restaurant with traditional Korean food to Mr Lee ("Ah! Korean cab driver know EVERYTHING! Number one cab driver!"). When we get to Jukjeon though, we have trouble actually locating the restaurant, but no worries, because there are tons to choose from! Mr Lee had declared earlier "There are all kinds of food... Chinese food, Japanese food, Korean food, we can eat all the different kinds of food. But today, we eat Korean food, because it's best!" The restaurant he ends up choosing though, is "not Korean! not Japanese! a little of both! and better!" Right. Well, whatever it is, it tastes awesome.
Dinner was really nice, and the conversation was excellent (as always, with Mr Lee). Some of the notable topics include:
Soju: "DIGESTION! You know? Digestion? Soju is so good for it! Especially when you're eating the meat! I drink soju every day with my food, for the digestion. Not high alcohol. Not much at all! Less then twenty, less then ten! Maybe five, an alcohol of five. Just like drinking water, but good for digestion! Whiskey? Uggh! Whiskey very strong, very good, but very strong. Be careful with whiskey!"
(note: soju is usually around 40 proof. that is higher then water)
Beggars: "My wife you know, when she sees beggars she gives them everytime five dollars. Everytime, five dollars, five dollars, five dollars. Me, I only give one dollar. But then, you know what I do? I call the government. And I tell them, I'm Retired Colonel, you know? I call the government and I tell them 'you need to do something for these beggars!' And so, when I see the beggars I only give them one dollar, but I tell them, 'don't worry! I told the government about you!'
Making phone calls: "Yesterday, you try to call me. I see, four times, you try to call me. But I don't hear my phone ringing. So, you know what you do when that happens? If you call me, and I no answer? Wait, maybe ten, no maybe fifteen minutes, then try calling again. Maybe forty minutes. But call again! Sometimes cannot hear the phone ringing. Don't want to make the phone louder, no good. So, you need to call again, and keep calling until I answer. What time you done with yoga? Maybe some days after yoga, you can call then too? Maybe you two are hungry, and want to eat the food after yoga? Do not hesitate. Call me! Understand? And keeping calling until I answer!"
My Dad: (I gave Mr Lee my dad's Tae Kwon Do business card) "Ah! Tae Kwon Do? Your Dad is Tae Kwon Do? Ohhhhhh. {reading under his breath} Oh! Fifth degree black belt! Oh! Fifth degree! I- fourth degree, your dad- fifth degree! Ohhhhh! Wow! Ok, ok. Ok, ok. You tell your father, you tell him, 'no worries!' Ok? You tell him, in Korea, I be your father, ok? Ok, you make sure you tell him. Your parents, you know, they are probably in the US being worried. You tell them, no more. I am your father. Yes. Ok. Yes, I think your father and I are good friends. I think we will be good friends, your father and I. Good man. (yes, he is) Ah! Madison, Wisconsin! I go there and be good friends with your dad! Ah ha, fifth degree Tae Kwon Do. Ok, good."
And later... Mr Lee shared something incredibly surprising.
"Let me be frank. I tell you before that I have wife, and that she back in California. But two months ago, Jesus Christ came down and he took her away. She pass away. She leave me to go to be with God. Ahhh yes. Ok, no. Ok, ok. And my son, I tell you about my son, the smart one? Well, three years ago he buy us a house in California. Two bedroom, two bathroom. Very nice house. But big house. Too big! And now, too big for me alone in the house. So I come to Korea. I come here four, maybe five weeks ago..... Here! Here is photo of my wife and me. Our first date. Before we were married even! We married so long, maybe fifty years, almost. I think that is good; I think that is good enough. Long time. And so, I tell you before, I have many friends in Korea. Many, many friends. But I don't see my friends. They all want to talk about my wife, want to talk about the past. But I just want to put that back there, I can't talk about it with them. Not ready to see them. In a few months, maybe. But not now....But you, it's okay. I can talk to you about this and it's okay. It makes me happy. We can do the sightseeing, and eat the good food, and visit Seoul City, and I feel good... And you know, my wife, she was school teacher too. She taught the home economics. And I think it's so good, you two, coming over to teach English to the young guys. And I think, I want to help you, I want to make sure you are okay. And I think, my wife, she wants that. Maybe my wife is who's telling me to do this, because she's a good person."
I think it's Mr Lee who's the good person. A really good person. My heart is hurting for him.
I gave him an extra big hug when we said goodbye last night.
Sunday, February 19, 2012
It's Spring in Here!
When Medeha and I were living together in Harlem, almost two years went by before we bothered getting furniture for our living room. Instead, we had a bare mattress, a broken futon frame, a plywood 'table' and a paper mache chair we'd found on the street. Our decorating included Halloween cobwebs EVERYWHERE, a fog machine, and chart paper with inappropriate things written on them taped to the walls.
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| Most dangerous chair ever! |
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| Ooooh! Spooky! |
It didn't matter that we couldn't open our kitchen cabinets or use any of the appliances. This is what we ate for dinner!
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| Snack Night! |
I miss our New York apartment.
Now, I have an apartment in Korea. It's very different from the one we had in New York. I went out and bought some home decorations today. Couldn't find any cobwebs or dinosaur posters, so I decided to go with an 'it's Springtime, All the Time' theme!
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| Getting sidetracked in the hat aisle. |
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| Look, Mom! There's stuff on the wall! |
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| It's always Spring in here! |
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| Butterfly window |
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| Yep. |
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| Show Me Your Smile! LOVE! |
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| HAPPY HAPPY HAPPY! |
I guess it's official now? I live in Korea?
Saturday, February 18, 2012
Girls Night WOO
It's the weekend, so I know you're probably sitting there, anxiously wondering what is going to happen next in the Chronicles of Mr Lee, but (and I hate to tell you this) you're just gonna have to wait.
Last night was Girls' Night Woo!
We made that sound a lot... like this: Cheers! Girls Night! Woo!!! WOOOOOOOO! Guzzle guzzle.
Friday Night Girls Night Woo! leads directly into...
.... Saturday Lay on the Heated Floor in Pain Day Woo!
ugggh....
Okay. Alright. Julia's hungover. Again. You're probably wishing you're reading something a little more noteworthy. Well, maybe you should check out THIS blog instead.
Anyways, I've been thinking (and that, in and of itself, if a feat, given my current state). I woke up this morning and thought, "Wow! Last night was a crazy night!" And then I thought, "Man, how many times have I thought THAT?" Answer: A Lot. And then I started thinking about what qualified a night as a 'crazy night'. In high school, it meant .... let's be honest.... there weren't any crazy nights in high school (my parents read this!). In college, a crazy night probably meant drinking as much Miller Lite as possible followed by a Domino's Supreme pizza (mmmm I'd like to eat one now). In New York, a crazy night started with All-you-can-drink brunch, followed by the all-you-can-drink Chinese restaurant, and ended at the Pyramid Club/KGB/pizza shop/passed out on the train. In South America, a crazy night lasted three weeks, and you woke up in a different country. In Korea, a crazy night means skipping yoga to eat a Grande Taco Salad and drink a few margaritias (okay, and some tequila shots). Wait a minute, I thought we were in Korea. Taco salad? Yep. Taco Salad.
It was delicious.
Back to the point... I haven't been partying much in Korea. Like, not much at all. Like, I can count the number of bars I've been to. On ONE hand. Oh. My God. I'm literally cringing as I write this. I feel like I'm admitting some horrible sin. Oh Heavenly Father, I haven't been partying enough. How do we judge a person, if not by how much they party? How do we know how much fun they are? How do we know if we like someone if we don't get completely smashed with them?
I don't know.
But I guess what makes a night 'crazy' is what it's like in relation to the other nights around it. In college, last night would have seemed like a grown-up, classy night (drinking in a restaurant! not being carded at the bar!). In New York, last night would have qualified as a nice, quiet evening with friends. In South America, well, in South America, last night just wouldn't have happened. In Korea, we eat dinner, and have a few drinks while watching the Victoria's Secret Runway show. And we eat pretzels. It was crazy.
In New York and South America, everything was crazy. Life was crazy. I was crazy. Here, ....well, here I run every day. And I do yoga six days a week (except for last night.... and this morning...). So for here, for now, last night was a crazy night. And I guess that's okay. I guess I'll make friends by showing them how good I am at touching my toes.
Now, why does this apartment have to be so big??? The coffee pot is too far away.
Last night was Girls' Night Woo!
We made that sound a lot... like this: Cheers! Girls Night! Woo!!! WOOOOOOOO! Guzzle guzzle.
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| Woooo! English Department! |
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| Woooooo! |
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| Woooooo! tequila shots!! |
.... Saturday Lay on the Heated Floor in Pain Day Woo!
ugggh....
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| Yes. I'm laying on my running clothes. |
Okay. Alright. Julia's hungover. Again. You're probably wishing you're reading something a little more noteworthy. Well, maybe you should check out THIS blog instead.
Anyways, I've been thinking (and that, in and of itself, if a feat, given my current state). I woke up this morning and thought, "Wow! Last night was a crazy night!" And then I thought, "Man, how many times have I thought THAT?" Answer: A Lot. And then I started thinking about what qualified a night as a 'crazy night'. In high school, it meant .... let's be honest.... there weren't any crazy nights in high school (my parents read this!). In college, a crazy night probably meant drinking as much Miller Lite as possible followed by a Domino's Supreme pizza (mmmm I'd like to eat one now). In New York, a crazy night started with All-you-can-drink brunch, followed by the all-you-can-drink Chinese restaurant, and ended at the Pyramid Club/KGB/pizza shop/passed out on the train. In South America, a crazy night lasted three weeks, and you woke up in a different country. In Korea, a crazy night means skipping yoga to eat a Grande Taco Salad and drink a few margaritias (okay, and some tequila shots). Wait a minute, I thought we were in Korea. Taco salad? Yep. Taco Salad.
It was delicious.
Back to the point... I haven't been partying much in Korea. Like, not much at all. Like, I can count the number of bars I've been to. On ONE hand. Oh. My God. I'm literally cringing as I write this. I feel like I'm admitting some horrible sin. Oh Heavenly Father, I haven't been partying enough. How do we judge a person, if not by how much they party? How do we know how much fun they are? How do we know if we like someone if we don't get completely smashed with them?
I don't know.
But I guess what makes a night 'crazy' is what it's like in relation to the other nights around it. In college, last night would have seemed like a grown-up, classy night (drinking in a restaurant! not being carded at the bar!). In New York, last night would have qualified as a nice, quiet evening with friends. In South America, well, in South America, last night just wouldn't have happened. In Korea, we eat dinner, and have a few drinks while watching the Victoria's Secret Runway show. And we eat pretzels. It was crazy.
In New York and South America, everything was crazy. Life was crazy. I was crazy. Here, ....well, here I run every day. And I do yoga six days a week (except for last night.... and this morning...). So for here, for now, last night was a crazy night. And I guess that's okay. I guess I'll make friends by showing them how good I am at touching my toes.
Now, why does this apartment have to be so big??? The coffee pot is too far away.
Tuesday, February 14, 2012
The Start of Something Special
Valentine's Day
This is not normally a holiday that I pay any attention to. I am, by far, the least romantic person I know. Weirdly enough though, Valentine's Day has become my most favorite holiday! Valentine's day is pretty significant to me, because it was on Valentine's Day a few years back that I can say my life was forever changed.
Hop in my time machine, cuz we're going back. Waaaaay back!
The year is 2009.
Medeha and I are at a hotel in Atlanta, somewhere between drunk and hungover. We'd had a 14 hour layover in Washington D.C., and went bar hopping with my awesome cousin Beth. She'd dropped us back at the airport at the end of the night so we could catch our morning flight to Atlanta. We barely made the flight. I say barely, not because we were short on time. But because we both passed out at the gate and the guys who said they'd wake us up didn't and we regained consciousness just as they were calling last call at the gate. We get to Atlanta and find out that we've missed the only flight to Guatemala. waaaah! This is horrible! We try to get the poor man working at the gate to change our flight, but the best he can do is get us a bunch of vouchers for free meals (hey, we'll take that! there's a T.G.I.Fridays's at the Atlanta airport!) and a night at the airport hotel.
So here we are, in a strange city, in a hotel room, not entirely sure how we got here, using food vouchers at the bar, intermittently crying and singing along to romantic songs on the clock radio. What a shitty Valentine's Day.
You're probably thinking "Julia, this is the type of story that's usually told as an intro to one of those A &E intervention shows! Where are you going with this??" Before you start calling up the Betty Ford Clinic, let me explain.
A few weeks earlier, Medeha came home from happy hour to tell me that she'd found some awesomely cheap tickets, so we should take a trip over our February break!
"But I'm planning on going home for that break."
"Let's make a deal. If it's cheaper to go home, you go home. If it's cheaper to go to Guatemala, we go to Guatemala."
I've always been one for fiscal responsibility, so immediately agreed.
New York, NY to Madison, Wi: $212
New York, NY to Guatemala City, Guatemala $186
In an already unstable country, a recent increase in instability and violence had caused airfare prices to plummet. Had it been a safe place to go, I probably would not have taken the trip. I'd never even heard of Guatemala. I didn't have the slightest idea of where it was, or what language was spoken there. I thought maybe it was an island, but wasn't sure. (It's usually at this point in a story when my dad will ask, "Now, was this a five beer plan, or a six beer plan?") It didn't matter that we didn't know anything about the country, we were determined to take a vacation!
So, we're en route to Guatemala, and it's taking sooooo long to get there! We left Friday afternoon, flew to D.C., went out drinking, flew to Atlanta, ate ourselves into a solid food coma, and finally, on Sunday caught a flight to Guatemala City.
It was totally worth the ordeal! We had SUCH an awesome vacation. We visited the colonial city of Antigua, we climbed a volcano, we hung out at Lago de Atitlan, swimming, kayaking and 'swimming', we went shopping in Mayan markets, we looked at ancient ruins.
In typical 'Medeha and Julia' fashion, we ate and drank our way through the country.
But for me, it was more then just a vacation. It was through this trip that I had the realization that not only was travelling- real, long distance, new country, new culture, new language, new people, travelling- not only was it possible for me, but it was necessary for me. It was at that point in my life that something was sparked, something clicked in me.
This is not normally a holiday that I pay any attention to. I am, by far, the least romantic person I know. Weirdly enough though, Valentine's Day has become my most favorite holiday! Valentine's day is pretty significant to me, because it was on Valentine's Day a few years back that I can say my life was forever changed.
Hop in my time machine, cuz we're going back. Waaaaay back!
The year is 2009.
Medeha and I are at a hotel in Atlanta, somewhere between drunk and hungover. We'd had a 14 hour layover in Washington D.C., and went bar hopping with my awesome cousin Beth. She'd dropped us back at the airport at the end of the night so we could catch our morning flight to Atlanta. We barely made the flight. I say barely, not because we were short on time. But because we both passed out at the gate and the guys who said they'd wake us up didn't and we regained consciousness just as they were calling last call at the gate. We get to Atlanta and find out that we've missed the only flight to Guatemala. waaaah! This is horrible! We try to get the poor man working at the gate to change our flight, but the best he can do is get us a bunch of vouchers for free meals (hey, we'll take that! there's a T.G.I.Fridays's at the Atlanta airport!) and a night at the airport hotel.
So here we are, in a strange city, in a hotel room, not entirely sure how we got here, using food vouchers at the bar, intermittently crying and singing along to romantic songs on the clock radio. What a shitty Valentine's Day.
You're probably thinking "Julia, this is the type of story that's usually told as an intro to one of those A &E intervention shows! Where are you going with this??" Before you start calling up the Betty Ford Clinic, let me explain.
A few weeks earlier, Medeha came home from happy hour to tell me that she'd found some awesomely cheap tickets, so we should take a trip over our February break!
"But I'm planning on going home for that break."
"Let's make a deal. If it's cheaper to go home, you go home. If it's cheaper to go to Guatemala, we go to Guatemala."
I've always been one for fiscal responsibility, so immediately agreed.
New York, NY to Madison, Wi: $212
New York, NY to Guatemala City, Guatemala $186
In an already unstable country, a recent increase in instability and violence had caused airfare prices to plummet. Had it been a safe place to go, I probably would not have taken the trip. I'd never even heard of Guatemala. I didn't have the slightest idea of where it was, or what language was spoken there. I thought maybe it was an island, but wasn't sure. (It's usually at this point in a story when my dad will ask, "Now, was this a five beer plan, or a six beer plan?") It didn't matter that we didn't know anything about the country, we were determined to take a vacation!
So, we're en route to Guatemala, and it's taking sooooo long to get there! We left Friday afternoon, flew to D.C., went out drinking, flew to Atlanta, ate ourselves into a solid food coma, and finally, on Sunday caught a flight to Guatemala City.
It was totally worth the ordeal! We had SUCH an awesome vacation. We visited the colonial city of Antigua, we climbed a volcano, we hung out at Lago de Atitlan, swimming, kayaking and 'swimming', we went shopping in Mayan markets, we looked at ancient ruins.
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| Exploring |
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| Spicy and salty- our favorite flavors! |
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| Medeha, the Friendly Giant |
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| Such happy friends! |
In typical 'Medeha and Julia' fashion, we ate and drank our way through the country.
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| CHEEEEEESSSSSSY |
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| Eating ice cream in the plaza |
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| Drinking a Krishna |
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| mmmmm I want to eat that right now! |
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| The PERFECT bite! |
But for me, it was more then just a vacation. It was through this trip that I had the realization that not only was travelling- real, long distance, new country, new culture, new language, new people, travelling- not only was it possible for me, but it was necessary for me. It was at that point in my life that something was sparked, something clicked in me.
I caught travel fever.
I definitely didn't realize it at the time though. At the time, I just thought:
"Hey this is cool, we're spending the week partying in another country! Booze is so cheap here!"
But the course of my life was forever changed.
Some people know their whole lives what they want to do, they seem to have been born with the image already in mind of what they want their life to look like when they're grown up. Not me. I can't really plan for the future because, quite honestly, I can't picture myself getting old. It's amazing, when I'm looking back, most of my major life decisions (being only 26, there haven't really been that many) were either just based on impulse, or were a default choice. I ended up living in New York City for three years because I got a bad stomach flu and missed a job interview in D.C. I am so glad I got the flu. New York was the best (and the worst!) thing to happen to me.
Anyways.... this post was supposed to be about Valentine's Day, and it's deteriorated into random ramblings about life... What I guess I'm trying to say is that I'm now going to celebrate Valentine's Day because it is a definitive point where I can look back at it and see that it was on that day I started the rest of my life.
I was raised (am still being raised) by parents who always told me that I could be anything, that I could do anything I wanted. But it wasn't until I actually started figuring out what that actually meant ('I want to see new things, go new places') and doing that (I'm going to buy a one-way ticket to Mexico. I'm going to go live in Asia), did I understand that I COULD do anything I wanted. And not in the sense that it was permitted, but in the sense that I COULD. So, in honor of Valentine's Day, I'd like to say THANK YOU and I LOVE YOU to everyone that helped me get where I am today. Even when that meant letting me (and encouraging me) to move far away.
Oh god. This became so sappy. I promise I won't do that to you again. Ever.
But really, I love you.
I was raised (am still being raised) by parents who always told me that I could be anything, that I could do anything I wanted. But it wasn't until I actually started figuring out what that actually meant ('I want to see new things, go new places') and doing that (I'm going to buy a one-way ticket to Mexico. I'm going to go live in Asia), did I understand that I COULD do anything I wanted. And not in the sense that it was permitted, but in the sense that I COULD. So, in honor of Valentine's Day, I'd like to say THANK YOU and I LOVE YOU to everyone that helped me get where I am today. Even when that meant letting me (and encouraging me) to move far away.
Oh god. This became so sappy. I promise I won't do that to you again. Ever.
But really, I love you.
Sunday, February 12, 2012
Sightseeing with Mr Lee
So last week, Mr Lee and I had made plans to hang out this weekend and do some more sightseeing. We had talked about maybe going to Namdaemun Market or Dongdaemun Market so that he could show me all the different Korean foods, and so I could get "some very cheap prices on quality products". Our day began by meeting at the bus stop where we had first met each other. Mr Lee comes striding up, "Oh Juliet, Juliet!" (Haven't been able to correct that one) "We are so, so lucky today! The sun is on our side! haha! Things are looking up!" I ask Mr Lee what the plan is for our day. He replies, "Oh! Don't worry about the plan! You just follow me! haha! I have a schedule for our day! We will see sooo many many things! You just follow me!"
And then he pulls out a 2007 day planner. Referencing the day planner and an outdated subway map (it doesn't have the new Bundang line that goes out to us) Mr Lee explains what we are going to do. "Here is Jukjeon, you know Jukjeon right? We go there, then we transfer ourselves to the orange subway train, here. Then we take it one, two, three, four, five,.....eighteen stops to here, and we get off the subway train. That is where we go to Seoul Tower, you know Seoul Tower? We go there to look into North Korea! haha! Good day for that! We can see into North Korea today!"
So we head out! Using public transportation with Mr Lee is hilarious, because he has a running commentary going on the whole time. "Ok. Next stop is our stop. When the train stops, then we stand up. Not too soon! Oh! Ok! Go, go! (Long pause before he takes the step over the gap, back onto solid ground) Ok, ok. We need orange line here, orange line. Ok! Over here! Follow me! Eh! Take it easy, take it easy! Lots of stairs here! Take it easy! Haha! That's for old people! (pointing at an elevator) I'm old you know, but I don't need to use that! haha! This is my first time on orange train, you know? Never rode the orange train before! I ask that lady if there are many people on the train. She doesn't know. Crazy lady! Ah! Here it is! Oh, looks ok, looks nice, clean. Lots of seats! Sit down! Sit down! I think I like the orange train." Since this is his first time riding the orange line, Mr Lee references his subway map at each stop "to make sure this train doesn't skip any". We successfully make it to our stop and find a bus that will take us up the hill to Seoul Tower. On our way up to the tower, Mr Lee tells me how he's been here before. "Maybe forty, fifty years ago, you know, back when I was bachelor! haha! I come up to this tower to see ALL of Seoul! Very nice back then! And now, I'm back to look again!" When we get to the top, it's breathtaking. Panoramic views of the whole city, huge skyscrapers as far as you can see. I ask Mr Lee what he thinks, if it's changed a lot since the last time he was here "Oh, I dunno. I think there are more tall buildings now, a bit". Probably so.
Each of the windows in the observatory is labelled with city and country names that are in that direction. Mr Lee runs up to the North Korea window, pointing excitedly. "There it is! There it is! Quick, stand here, I take your picture with North Korea!"
Now, for someone who hasn't been up here in more then forty years, you'd think he may want to take his time looking around. Not so. Mr Lee is not one for lingering. While I'm busy looking out all the windows, taking photos, Mr Lee wanders off. When I find him again, he's in the gift shop. He presents me with a pen "For you! For our memories! Let's go eat some lunch!"
Mr Lee asks me "You like noodle?" I say yes, and he's suspicious of my answer. "How come you like noodle? When you have noodle before? We see if you like noodle, I dunno. I take you to BEST noodle shop in all of Seoul city, there we see if you like noodle. How you know you like noodle?" So we head off towards the restaurant, which is about a 15 minute walk. On the way, Mr Lee starts telling me about the neighborhood we're going to, "Myeongdong! You know Broadway, New York City? Myeongdong is like that, very famous! Lots of people! Lots of foreign people! Good for you! Boys- teenagers, twenty-agers, in the nice clothes! Good for you!"
On the way to the restaurant, we take a few detours. He shows me the entrance to Namdaemun Market ("Too busy! No time for that today! Ok! Maybe I show you one street! Don't get lost!"), the Korean mint ("That is Official Korean Bank Headquarters! Old, old building! All the money in Korea comes out of that building!"), and an office building ("12, 13, 15 years, I work here! Eleventh floor, you know eleventh floor? That's where I work! Very nice place, I love my job there. Emergency coordinator, you know what I mean? During peace time, very very easy job. Only hard work when we have problems.") We finally make it to the restaurant, and find that there's a line out the door and down the sidewalk. This place must be really good! They only serve two things at this restaurant: Noodle soup, or noodle soup with a side of dumplings. We sit down, and immediately there are two huge bowls of noodle soup in front of us, along with some really spicy kimchi. I watch other people take the kimchi, rinse it off in their soup, and then eat it, so I start to do that. "Oh! You better be careful! This is very very hot! Better be careful with that!" Mr Lee is right, it is very hot, and very delicious! We finish lunch, and Mr Lee is sooo happy that I like noodles! "You tell me you like noodle, and I don't believe you! How you know you like noodle? But I see, you like noodle! You eat ALL the kimchi! You do better then me with the kimchi! How come you like hot food? Before, I was worried all the time, what will you eat? But now, I see you like noodle, I don't have to worry anymore! hahah! We can go to the market next week and eat all the food!"
After lunch, Mr Lee has planned that we are going "to look at an old building". It turns out that we're heading toward Deoksu Palace. As we approach, we see a crowd gathered in front of the palace gate, and a ceremony just beginning. Mr Lee grabs my hand and starts running, actually running! "Oh oh! It's our lucky day! Look at this, look at this! Here they come! Quick stand over there! (pushing me through the crowd so I can be in front) I take your picture! Turn around, here they come! Blue! Yellow! Red! Here comes the blue dragon!"
And then he pulls out a 2007 day planner. Referencing the day planner and an outdated subway map (it doesn't have the new Bundang line that goes out to us) Mr Lee explains what we are going to do. "Here is Jukjeon, you know Jukjeon right? We go there, then we transfer ourselves to the orange subway train, here. Then we take it one, two, three, four, five,.....eighteen stops to here, and we get off the subway train. That is where we go to Seoul Tower, you know Seoul Tower? We go there to look into North Korea! haha! Good day for that! We can see into North Korea today!"
So we head out! Using public transportation with Mr Lee is hilarious, because he has a running commentary going on the whole time. "Ok. Next stop is our stop. When the train stops, then we stand up. Not too soon! Oh! Ok! Go, go! (Long pause before he takes the step over the gap, back onto solid ground) Ok, ok. We need orange line here, orange line. Ok! Over here! Follow me! Eh! Take it easy, take it easy! Lots of stairs here! Take it easy! Haha! That's for old people! (pointing at an elevator) I'm old you know, but I don't need to use that! haha! This is my first time on orange train, you know? Never rode the orange train before! I ask that lady if there are many people on the train. She doesn't know. Crazy lady! Ah! Here it is! Oh, looks ok, looks nice, clean. Lots of seats! Sit down! Sit down! I think I like the orange train." Since this is his first time riding the orange line, Mr Lee references his subway map at each stop "to make sure this train doesn't skip any". We successfully make it to our stop and find a bus that will take us up the hill to Seoul Tower. On our way up to the tower, Mr Lee tells me how he's been here before. "Maybe forty, fifty years ago, you know, back when I was bachelor! haha! I come up to this tower to see ALL of Seoul! Very nice back then! And now, I'm back to look again!" When we get to the top, it's breathtaking. Panoramic views of the whole city, huge skyscrapers as far as you can see. I ask Mr Lee what he thinks, if it's changed a lot since the last time he was here "Oh, I dunno. I think there are more tall buildings now, a bit". Probably so.
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| Looking out over Seoul |
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| Seoul Tower |
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| Posing with North Korea |
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| Mr Lee staring down North Korea |
Now, for someone who hasn't been up here in more then forty years, you'd think he may want to take his time looking around. Not so. Mr Lee is not one for lingering. While I'm busy looking out all the windows, taking photos, Mr Lee wanders off. When I find him again, he's in the gift shop. He presents me with a pen "For you! For our memories! Let's go eat some lunch!"
Mr Lee asks me "You like noodle?" I say yes, and he's suspicious of my answer. "How come you like noodle? When you have noodle before? We see if you like noodle, I dunno. I take you to BEST noodle shop in all of Seoul city, there we see if you like noodle. How you know you like noodle?" So we head off towards the restaurant, which is about a 15 minute walk. On the way, Mr Lee starts telling me about the neighborhood we're going to, "Myeongdong! You know Broadway, New York City? Myeongdong is like that, very famous! Lots of people! Lots of foreign people! Good for you! Boys- teenagers, twenty-agers, in the nice clothes! Good for you!"
On the way to the restaurant, we take a few detours. He shows me the entrance to Namdaemun Market ("Too busy! No time for that today! Ok! Maybe I show you one street! Don't get lost!"), the Korean mint ("That is Official Korean Bank Headquarters! Old, old building! All the money in Korea comes out of that building!"), and an office building ("12, 13, 15 years, I work here! Eleventh floor, you know eleventh floor? That's where I work! Very nice place, I love my job there. Emergency coordinator, you know what I mean? During peace time, very very easy job. Only hard work when we have problems.") We finally make it to the restaurant, and find that there's a line out the door and down the sidewalk. This place must be really good! They only serve two things at this restaurant: Noodle soup, or noodle soup with a side of dumplings. We sit down, and immediately there are two huge bowls of noodle soup in front of us, along with some really spicy kimchi. I watch other people take the kimchi, rinse it off in their soup, and then eat it, so I start to do that. "Oh! You better be careful! This is very very hot! Better be careful with that!" Mr Lee is right, it is very hot, and very delicious! We finish lunch, and Mr Lee is sooo happy that I like noodles! "You tell me you like noodle, and I don't believe you! How you know you like noodle? But I see, you like noodle! You eat ALL the kimchi! You do better then me with the kimchi! How come you like hot food? Before, I was worried all the time, what will you eat? But now, I see you like noodle, I don't have to worry anymore! hahah! We can go to the market next week and eat all the food!"
After lunch, Mr Lee has planned that we are going "to look at an old building". It turns out that we're heading toward Deoksu Palace. As we approach, we see a crowd gathered in front of the palace gate, and a ceremony just beginning. Mr Lee grabs my hand and starts running, actually running! "Oh oh! It's our lucky day! Look at this, look at this! Here they come! Quick stand over there! (pushing me through the crowd so I can be in front) I take your picture! Turn around, here they come! Blue! Yellow! Red! Here comes the blue dragon!"
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| Here they come! |
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| And the yellow! |
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| And the red! |
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| Stand over there! The yellow are coming back! |
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| Ok! Now both of us! |
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| Posing with the royal guard |
After the ceremony, Mr Lee and I head back to our neck of the woods. We have dinner at the food court again, this time trying a fried dumpling thing. YUM! What a fun day we had! Next week, we're going to eat all the food at the market, or something. Who knows what he'll plan!
Sunday, February 5, 2012
You, Me and Mr Lee
Where to start, where to start! So, back when I was traveling through Central and South America, I tried blogging. I failed miserably. Part of that had to do with the fact that I found it pretty hard to sober up long enough to put together a coherent string of words. And part of that had to do with the fact that I'd procrastinate writing new posts. Then, when I'd think about writing a new post, I'd be all full of anxiety, trying to figure out what to write about! Too much fun, exciting stuff had happened! Which awesomely hilarious story do I want to tell???? Well, I'd let the anxiety take over, I'd completely freeze up and I wouldn't write anything. That method just did not make for a very interesting blog. And, unfortunately, I'm starting to see my old habits come back! Just last night, I was thinking- 'Oh! I want to write about the first day of kindergarten! (I only have one student so far, but she is just so dang CUTE!)' and then I thought 'NO! I have to write about my nighttime walking tour of Seoul, and the riot police! (that was exactly what it sounds like) and then I thought 'Noo! I want to do a photoblog of all my favorite Korean side dishes!' (mmmmm pickled radish....). And then, today happened, and all the other blog ideas got left in the dust.
My plan for the day was rather simple: I was going to take the bus into Seoul to do some sightseeing (check out Seodaemun Prison, maybe check out Sajik Park). I was waiting for the bus in front of my apartment, when a nice, older gentleman started talking with me. He was curious about what I was doing in Korea, how long I'd been here, why I was alone on the street... He was also waiting for the bus to Seoul; he had plans to meet up with some of his buddies for dinner. After chatting for awhile (where the heck IS this bus???) he introduces himself as Mr Lee, and politely invites me to join him for lunch in Seoul. "Really??? You want to have LUNCH with ME?" I think my surprise kind of scared him a bit; may have caused him to second guess the invite. But, guess what Mr. Lee, it's too late, I've already said "Yes!"
And so begins Julia's Day O'Fun with Mr Lee!
A little bit about Mr. Lee:
He's a 77 year old retired Colonel from the ROK Marines. He trained with the US Marines at Quantico in 1962, and then returned to Korea to train the Korean military. He went to Vietnam twice. He has two sons (one in L.A., the other in New Jersey), two daughters-in law, and three grandsons. He splits his time between the United States and Korea, and has a home in an 'old people neighborhood' in California.
Throughout the day, Mr Lee kept repeating 'Ohhh you only been here one month? No good, no good. You know nothing! How you know what to do? How you know where to go? I go with you, Seoul is too big for you alone!' Turns out that this fear stems from the fact that Seoul is, perhaps, a bit too big for Mr Lee.
We get off the bus, and Mr Lee immediately stops in his tracks, causing all the other bus passengers trying to depart to pile up on top of us. "Ohhh I'm a... stranger.... in this neighborhood." Nevertheless, he insists on being the host, and taking me to a traditional Korean restaurant. If he can find one, that is. We wander around for awhile. He questions every other person we come upon, and never seems quite satisfied with their answers. Up the street, down the street, back up the street, over to another street. Eventually, he finds what he's looking for. Yay! And boy, did he pick a winner! The food is like shabu shabu (check out my facebook photos for evidence of my obsession with that stuff!) except it's BETTER. Yes. Better. There's a huge wok heated on a table top stove. Into the wok they put a mixture of beef and mushrooms and all sorts of vegetables and noodles. This cooks until you have a super chunky beef stirfry. You eat this with a million side dishes: spicy kimchi, green beans with shrimp, Korean salad, pickled radish, pickled garlics, pickled onions, etc. I could eat this every day for the rest of my life and be oh so happy! Unfortunately, Mr Lee doesn't remember what this dish is called in English, nor in Korean. He told me that when he was ordering he couldn't remember what it was, and couldn't find it on the menu, so he just described everything that he wanted to the waitress, and that's what she brought us.
So, we enjoyed a very nice lunch together, and I was preparing to part ways, when Mr Lee informed that he had a change in his plans. Actually, what he told me was "I call my friends and say 'No can do! Some other time, maybe! Haha! I have other things on my plate today! Sightseeing with my new American girlfriend! Hahahahah!" And so it's decided. We're going to embark on a sightseeing adventure! Except, Mr Lee isn't too excited about where I was planning on going: "Dongnimmun? Who tell you Dongnimmun? You know what that is? 'Mun' means arch. Why you want to see an arch? No good. You want to see a good arch, go to Paris. We're in Seoul, not Paris. No good arches here. But we can go, so you can see that it's no good."
And so it's decided, again. We're off to Dongnimmun! Maybe. Mr Lee only likes riding the green subway line. It's the original Seoul subway (ie oldest, slowest). The green subway line doesn't go to Dongnimmun. So we ride the green subway line to the City Hall, and look at the buildings in that area. He shows me the American Embassy, you know, "just in case." Then we hop into a cab to Dongnimmun.
"SEE?! There's Dongnimmun! Just a little tiny arch! I guess you need picture of it? Go stand by the arch." Let me explain... I didn't want to go to Dongnimmun to see the arch. Dongnimmun is the name of the subway stop next to Seodaemun Prison, which was my intended destination. As much as I tried to explain this, Mr Lee never quite got that part. So, I was just the crazy nut who wanted to see this stupid arch.
But I was able to convince Mr Lee to go to the prison with me. Instead of paying admission to get into the Seodaemun Prison, Mr Lee lectures the ticket attendant about how much he's already done for Korea. Why should he have to buy a ticket? The attendant gives in to his argument but questions 'what about the white girl?!?' Mr Lee tells him "we're family!" (can't you see the resemblance?)
Seodaemun Prison is a prison built by the Japanese in the early 1900's to hold Korean citizens who were resisting the Japanese invasion. As we were wandering through the cell blocks, Mr Lee told me he didn't even know that this prison existed and that he was happy that we both got to be tourists.
After checking out the prison, Mr Lee declares that it's time to get going (he doesn't want us to be in Seoul when it gets dark). We get back to Jukjeon Station (the subway station where I catch a bus to go home), and Mr Lee says he wants to get some dinner first. So we hit up the 'food court' beneath the Shinsagae shopping mall. This place is AWESOME! It's like no food court I've ever seen before! We spent a good half hour just wandering around it, with Mr Lee explaining what all the different foods are. We finally settled on a Japanese place that has a conveyor belt of sushi plates that go by, and you just grab the ones you want. Yum yum YUUUUMMMM! I think we ate about 15 plates of food.
Now, in some ways, Mr Lee is the epitome of a crazy old man. He's confused by public transit, he's pushy and impatient, he refuses to pay for certain things on the basis that he's a veteran. But, I've never met anyone who is so sincere and generous. The whole day, he insisted on paying for everything (lunch, cabs, dinner, coffee). But he also repeatedly offered to help me with other things in Korea. He's clearly very concerned about my well-being here: How do you like your job? Is your pay adequate? What are your hours?("Oh! Not too long!") How many classes do you teach a day? ("Don't teach at night!") Do they treat you well? How do you like your apartment? How do you pay for your apartment? Are your parents worried about you? How often do you call your parents? ("My sons and daughters call me three times a week- each! You need to call your parents more!") Do you have health insurance? How do you pay for a doctor? What do you take for a cold? Do you want some aspirin? Is your coat warm enough? Let me buy you gloves! (He actually did buy me gloves) Does your school provide you food? What do you eat? Do you walk home from school? Don't walk home from school! Don't go outside in the dark!
I'm still reeling from his kindness and generosity. He explained to me "My daughter-in-law, you know? Your manner, your look, reminds me of her. So you, now, are also like my daughter. She doesn't need to thank me for things, and neither do you".
Mr Lee has a lot of friends throughout the world. But, as he told me over dinner, "A lot of my friends are dead. No! What I meant to say is, a lot of my friends are in bed!" Either way, they're not coming out to hang out with him.
I would now like to introduce you to my new friend, Mr. Lee:
We already have plans for next weekend.
My plan for the day was rather simple: I was going to take the bus into Seoul to do some sightseeing (check out Seodaemun Prison, maybe check out Sajik Park). I was waiting for the bus in front of my apartment, when a nice, older gentleman started talking with me. He was curious about what I was doing in Korea, how long I'd been here, why I was alone on the street... He was also waiting for the bus to Seoul; he had plans to meet up with some of his buddies for dinner. After chatting for awhile (where the heck IS this bus???) he introduces himself as Mr Lee, and politely invites me to join him for lunch in Seoul. "Really??? You want to have LUNCH with ME?" I think my surprise kind of scared him a bit; may have caused him to second guess the invite. But, guess what Mr. Lee, it's too late, I've already said "Yes!"
And so begins Julia's Day O'Fun with Mr Lee!
A little bit about Mr. Lee:
He's a 77 year old retired Colonel from the ROK Marines. He trained with the US Marines at Quantico in 1962, and then returned to Korea to train the Korean military. He went to Vietnam twice. He has two sons (one in L.A., the other in New Jersey), two daughters-in law, and three grandsons. He splits his time between the United States and Korea, and has a home in an 'old people neighborhood' in California.
Throughout the day, Mr Lee kept repeating 'Ohhh you only been here one month? No good, no good. You know nothing! How you know what to do? How you know where to go? I go with you, Seoul is too big for you alone!' Turns out that this fear stems from the fact that Seoul is, perhaps, a bit too big for Mr Lee.
We get off the bus, and Mr Lee immediately stops in his tracks, causing all the other bus passengers trying to depart to pile up on top of us. "Ohhh I'm a... stranger.... in this neighborhood." Nevertheless, he insists on being the host, and taking me to a traditional Korean restaurant. If he can find one, that is. We wander around for awhile. He questions every other person we come upon, and never seems quite satisfied with their answers. Up the street, down the street, back up the street, over to another street. Eventually, he finds what he's looking for. Yay! And boy, did he pick a winner! The food is like shabu shabu (check out my facebook photos for evidence of my obsession with that stuff!) except it's BETTER. Yes. Better. There's a huge wok heated on a table top stove. Into the wok they put a mixture of beef and mushrooms and all sorts of vegetables and noodles. This cooks until you have a super chunky beef stirfry. You eat this with a million side dishes: spicy kimchi, green beans with shrimp, Korean salad, pickled radish, pickled garlics, pickled onions, etc. I could eat this every day for the rest of my life and be oh so happy! Unfortunately, Mr Lee doesn't remember what this dish is called in English, nor in Korean. He told me that when he was ordering he couldn't remember what it was, and couldn't find it on the menu, so he just described everything that he wanted to the waitress, and that's what she brought us.
So, we enjoyed a very nice lunch together, and I was preparing to part ways, when Mr Lee informed that he had a change in his plans. Actually, what he told me was "I call my friends and say 'No can do! Some other time, maybe! Haha! I have other things on my plate today! Sightseeing with my new American girlfriend! Hahahahah!" And so it's decided. We're going to embark on a sightseeing adventure! Except, Mr Lee isn't too excited about where I was planning on going: "Dongnimmun? Who tell you Dongnimmun? You know what that is? 'Mun' means arch. Why you want to see an arch? No good. You want to see a good arch, go to Paris. We're in Seoul, not Paris. No good arches here. But we can go, so you can see that it's no good."
And so it's decided, again. We're off to Dongnimmun! Maybe. Mr Lee only likes riding the green subway line. It's the original Seoul subway (ie oldest, slowest). The green subway line doesn't go to Dongnimmun. So we ride the green subway line to the City Hall, and look at the buildings in that area. He shows me the American Embassy, you know, "just in case." Then we hop into a cab to Dongnimmun.
"SEE?! There's Dongnimmun! Just a little tiny arch! I guess you need picture of it? Go stand by the arch." Let me explain... I didn't want to go to Dongnimmun to see the arch. Dongnimmun is the name of the subway stop next to Seodaemun Prison, which was my intended destination. As much as I tried to explain this, Mr Lee never quite got that part. So, I was just the crazy nut who wanted to see this stupid arch.
But I was able to convince Mr Lee to go to the prison with me. Instead of paying admission to get into the Seodaemun Prison, Mr Lee lectures the ticket attendant about how much he's already done for Korea. Why should he have to buy a ticket? The attendant gives in to his argument but questions 'what about the white girl?!?' Mr Lee tells him "we're family!" (can't you see the resemblance?)
Seodaemun Prison is a prison built by the Japanese in the early 1900's to hold Korean citizens who were resisting the Japanese invasion. As we were wandering through the cell blocks, Mr Lee told me he didn't even know that this prison existed and that he was happy that we both got to be tourists.
After checking out the prison, Mr Lee declares that it's time to get going (he doesn't want us to be in Seoul when it gets dark). We get back to Jukjeon Station (the subway station where I catch a bus to go home), and Mr Lee says he wants to get some dinner first. So we hit up the 'food court' beneath the Shinsagae shopping mall. This place is AWESOME! It's like no food court I've ever seen before! We spent a good half hour just wandering around it, with Mr Lee explaining what all the different foods are. We finally settled on a Japanese place that has a conveyor belt of sushi plates that go by, and you just grab the ones you want. Yum yum YUUUUMMMM! I think we ate about 15 plates of food.
Now, in some ways, Mr Lee is the epitome of a crazy old man. He's confused by public transit, he's pushy and impatient, he refuses to pay for certain things on the basis that he's a veteran. But, I've never met anyone who is so sincere and generous. The whole day, he insisted on paying for everything (lunch, cabs, dinner, coffee). But he also repeatedly offered to help me with other things in Korea. He's clearly very concerned about my well-being here: How do you like your job? Is your pay adequate? What are your hours?("Oh! Not too long!") How many classes do you teach a day? ("Don't teach at night!") Do they treat you well? How do you like your apartment? How do you pay for your apartment? Are your parents worried about you? How often do you call your parents? ("My sons and daughters call me three times a week- each! You need to call your parents more!") Do you have health insurance? How do you pay for a doctor? What do you take for a cold? Do you want some aspirin? Is your coat warm enough? Let me buy you gloves! (He actually did buy me gloves) Does your school provide you food? What do you eat? Do you walk home from school? Don't walk home from school! Don't go outside in the dark!
I'm still reeling from his kindness and generosity. He explained to me "My daughter-in-law, you know? Your manner, your look, reminds me of her. So you, now, are also like my daughter. She doesn't need to thank me for things, and neither do you".
Mr Lee has a lot of friends throughout the world. But, as he told me over dinner, "A lot of my friends are dead. No! What I meant to say is, a lot of my friends are in bed!" Either way, they're not coming out to hang out with him.
I would now like to introduce you to my new friend, Mr. Lee:
We already have plans for next weekend.
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