Day 64: Lazy Days

Okay, so I'm starting, or let me say re-starting, this blog entry by saying how much I HATE COMPUTERS!!!
My computer has a fucking virus in it and it's been causing some havoc and pissing me off big time. I just finished typing out a nice detailed entry for this day only to have the computer fuck up and lose it all!!!! I WAS SO MAD!!!!!!! And trying to get rid of this virus is going to be a pain in the ass because my entire computer (and I do mean EVERYTHING) is in Korean so it's like trying to feel your way through the dark. Even so I'm pretty useless when it comes to computers so even if this was in English I'd still have problems trying to fix it. Argh!!!!!!!!!!!

Well on that happy note, let me return to RETYPE OUT AGAIN my weekend adventures. This weekend was a really lazy one, but a really nice kind of lazy. I met up with Brad, Andrea, Amy, and Pauline for lunch at the Subway in Itaewon, but because we all live so far out of the city by the time we all got down there it was 3pm! Half the day gone already! We then spent the afternoon just hanging out in Itaewon doing some window-shopping and eating ice cream - our current obsession.

I have to say that it's always *very* disorienting being in Itaewon because of all the foreigners there. Everywhere you look there's Caucasians walking around and it always causes me to do a double-take, and think "Where am I? What country is this?" I'm just not used to seeing so many white people together any more! I can wander around Shihung for days and not ever see a foreigner. Hell, the amount of times I've seen foreigners in Shihung during the whole time I've been here I can count on one hand! 90% of the foreigners in Itaewon are GI's (army guys) from the nearby base and believe me when I say that they sure make their presence known. Most of us teachers (and most non-military foreigners in Korea) dislike the GI's - they're loud, rude, obnoxious, arrogant, are always causing a scene on the street, and I hate to say it, but they seem to embody and exemplify every single bad stereotype of Americans that you can think of. Honestly, you can hear them coming down the street before you see them. And this is when they're sober! You should see what Itaewon is like at night during the weekends! The whole area becomes this giant frat party filled with GI's who are running around absolutely shittered and causing a ruckus. It's like when they're drunk they have the intellect and maturity of a 16 year-old who's gotten drunk for the very first time on his parent's stash of booze stolen from the cupboard. I'm sure many of them are nice guys, but their behavior can often be just so obnoxious and so embarrassing that it's enough to make you THANK GOD that you're not American and associated with them.

So the weather has been absolutely beautiful lately! I don't know what the temperatures have been, but this Saturday it felt like it was at least 20 C outside. It was the perfect weather to be out and about in the sun and I love it. It's funny to think that just 2 weekends ago when I was at the Cherry Blossom Festival I wore a touque in the afternoon because it was kind of chilly that day, and now you can get away with just wearing a t-shirt, shorts, and sandals! What a massive and rapid change in weather! I wish I could 'put a cap' on the rising temps because I know in just a month or so summer will be here, along with the supposed disgustingly hot and humid weather that Korea is known for. Right now the weather is perfect though and I plan on enjoying it while it's still comfortable to be outside.

We decided to go on over to the Jonggak area so we hopped in a cab and made our way over to that part of Seoul. When we got there the taxi driver let us out right in front of Chongo Tower - that crazy unusual futuristic Dr.Evil headquarters skyscraper that I've mentioned before. Brad informed us that you can actually go up to the lobby of the restaurant at the very top and enjoy the view for free, so that's what we did! The view was amazing but it was so freaky being up there! The restaurant is literally suspended between 3 support beams that rise up a good 10 stories or so above the 'roof' of the building. Criss-crossing the 'hole' of the circular restaurant are these mid-air walkways that allow you to look out and down to the city way below - SO SCARY!!! It honestly feels as if the entire thing could collapse any second! And ladies, if you ever go up to the top of Chongo Tower, be sure to make a pit stop in the washroom up there. Apparently in the ladies room one whole wall of the washroom is glass, so that you can actually enjoy a magnificent view of the city WHILE YOU'RE SITTING ON THE CAN! Wow! How cool is that!?

We killed some time hanging out around there before Brad and Andrea went to go and see their movie. They were going to see 'The Passion of the Christ' and I was invited to join them but I have no interest whatsoever in seeing that film. It's not because of the religious content, I'd actually be quite curious to see it just for 'historical interests' but I've heard that it's very graphic and violent and I'm just too squeamish when it comes to stuff like that. Watching nails being driven through Jesus' hands just doesn't sound like a fun way to spend 2 hours, if you ask me. I, instead, headed over to the Starbucks to sit and read until they finished the film. I was all prepared to be by myself for a few hours, but I wasn't alone for very long...

I had only been sitting there for maybe half an hour or so, when this this 20-something Korean girl came up and sat next to me. I wasn't sure what she wanted at first so I just sat there and waited for her to do something. She kept trying to catch my eye and then she finally broke the ice by asking me what I was reading. Well anyways she was super nice and we spent the next hour and a half just chatting away! It's not uncommon for Korean strangers to come up and speak to you cause they want to practice their English, but this was the longest conversation I've had with a Korean stranger by far! She wanted to hear all about life in Canada so I told her all about the beautiful wonders and splendour of Vancouver and she sat there wide-eyed, 'oohhing' and 'ahhing' at all my vivid descriptions. We both had the same tastes in cheesy pop music, so since I had my discman with me, I suggested that we listen to some music. She thought this was a great idea! We totally got into and were rockin' out and singing along to my music, attracting many a strange looks from other patrons but having too much fun to care.

Brad, Andrea, Steve, and their friends Megan and Jess showed up later on and were quite surprised to see me boppin' away with some strange Korean girl! haha! It was time for dinner so I said goodbyes to my new friend Hyung-Kyung and we headed out. The 6 of us went to a nearby Bennigan's and had a really yummy dinner. I had never been to Bennigan's before (a US chain?) and was thrilled to be presented with a menu filled with dozens of choices - all food that I recognized! This was only my second time eating at a proper sit-down Western restaurant since arriving and it was sooooo good! After dinner we all took the bus back to Ilsan to play Scrabble at Brad's but by the time we got there everyone was so tired. Megan and Jess went home and Brad, Andrea, Steve and I watched 'Jackie Brown', but we all fell asleep during the film. Bedtime ensued shortly after that!

P.S. HAVE I MENTIONED HOW MUCH I FUCKING HATE COMPUTERS!!!!!!!!!!! ;-) (Sorry - I need to vent and I live alone so there's no one here to listen to me rant! Just had to get it out one last time.)