So far, this first week in Republic of Korea has been an interesting experience to say the least. I have a list of some very odd anecdotes of my first week here. Sort of in a chronological order.
- Drunk Korean Men Love Foreigners Who Don’t Speak Korean – The first night I went out and about around Eulji University (where the EPIK orientation was) made for an interesting experience. Myself, my roommate Jamian and eight South Africans went to a bar called C & C where a guy bought us three rounds of drinks and a plate of fruit. It was much appreciated, albeit impossible to understand.
- “You Can Never Leave The Burbs, No Matter Where You Go” – Those were the words from my friend Nick, whom I traveled extensively with in Southeast Asia last year. When Nick and I studied at Nanyang Technological University in the Jurong area of Singapore, that was considered a suburb. Living in a suburb of a city-state is much easier than a nation of many more million, but it’s funny nonetheless that I moved from one burb to another. The funny things is, I technically live in Incheon, but the amount of time it takes to take a bus into the center of Incheon is the time it takes me to get to the center of Seoul (about an hour.) Score? Sufficed to say, I will be making many a trips into Seoul.
- It’s The Little Things That Count – To say my apartment is small is an understatement. It’s a recently-built shoebox that is designed in such a way that my refrigerator is three meters from my kitchen and I have no space for a closet. It’s not much bigger than my freshman dormroom, but it’s my own place. I live in a neighborhood where every surrounding building is under construction. It makes for a lot of dust and trash, sadly. However, a five minute walk to the center of the neighborhood yields shops, restaurants and a movie theater. I should have enough space to hombrew some beer and cook a decent sized meal. The trouble is finding a place to eat once I cook, as I have no desk (yet).
- I Can Find A Bit Of Singapore Everywhere – The time I spent in Singapore last year made a formative impact on me, I would say. Hell, I’ve even made trips up to Los Angeles just to get some kari mee and char kway teow returning. So far, it’s been hard to escape the Lion City some 3,000 miles away. Rotiboy, a chain of coffee and bun shops is right by my apartment! That means I getting some of my favorite teas and buns will be easy. However, in Seoul, there are several other Singapore-based coffee chains that offer an array of treats. Even kaya toast. Alas, in East Asia, getting cream with your coffee at any place but a Starbucks is a luxury.
- Public Transportation Is Still An Adventure – Taking the bus in the US isn’t the easiest and most fun thing in the world. Crackheads, crazy people and terrible routes make for unpleasant journeys in most. Take the crackheads away and replace it with surly bus drivers and you have a much more exciting journey. The other day, a bus driver got to a red light at an intersection, steps outside, and smokes a cigarette. He puts it out and gets back in his seat as the light turns green. That would sound ridiculous anywhere else, but in Korea, the light cycle for an intersection is almost two minutes. So, this bus driver knew exactly what he was doing. It just caught me completely off-guard.
- Part two will be posted tomorrow!
