Soul Searching (by soul searching, I mostly mean trying to avoid being deported) in Seoul - Day 1

Hey! I've got a whole lot of blogging I am going to catch up on in the next few days. I figured I'll start with the South Korea trip while it's fresh in my mind. I may not be elaborating QUITE as much because I'll be attempting to dish a lot of entries quickly.

Some quick background...Chris and I needed to leave Japan for a few days at some point during our trip because we legally can't stay in the country for more than 90 days without being deported. SOOOO...Coz decided that the best place for us to go for a short visit would be Seoul, South Korea. He was taking us...so it sounded good to me! :)

The cast of characters...Su San (a mother on Aikiyo...former baton champion, back in the day...does lots of sewing for Aimachi), Yoshea (head colorguard instructor...also happens to speak excellent english...she's really the only person on Aikiyo with true authority that can understand us, so she's a big help), Coz, Chris, and myself. Here we are at the airport...though, we're not quite there in my telling of the tale yet.



We left Aikiyo at 7:30AM on Monday. Chris and I had slept approximately two hours the night before. The day before was semifinals (we won...but we won't see most of the challenging competition until finals in mid-January). After the show, Chris and I went for some food and drinks with Takeshi and a few guys from the low brass section (that will be another blog entry).

We got back to Aikiyo at about midnight...but then we gave in to our newest addiction...the television show "Prison Break." The show is amazing...and a few guys on Aikiyo have been renting episodes on a regular basis from the video store. They watch it in Japanese and then give it to us to watch in English. Finally...at 4:30AM, I went to sleep.

We got to the airport and had a littttle bit of trouble dealing with immigration. They didn't understand why I was leaving Japan...but then coming back (after I had been here for two months). They wanted proof that I would be leaving Japan again at some point, but of course I didn't have my January 17th flight info with me. They pretty much told me (through Yoshea) that if I didn't have proof of departure when I got back from Korea, they wouldn't let me through immigration upon return to Nagoya.

Ok ok, I get it, no problem. I'll print it out.

The flight was pretty good...Korean Airlines treats you pretty well. A meal on an hour and 45 minute flight is always welcome!



There were also about 25 "on demand" movies to choose from. I started "You, Me, and Dupree" but I couldn't finish it before the flight was done (I finished it on the way back).
Alright, so we get to Seoul and I make my way through customs with no real problem. I have 30 days to leave before I'm deported...no problem, we're only staying for three.

We're greeted by a woman who calls us over and Coz starts talking to her like he expected to see her. There are about five other people getting of the flight and coming over also. I then use my stunning intellect to deduce that we are actually part of tour group run through the hotel we're staying at.

She takes us over to currency exchange where I have my yen converted to wan.



In Japan, currency conviently works out so that 100 yen is close to 1 dollar (actually closer to like 89 cents or so...but Chris and I round up to discourage us from buying everything we see). In Seoul...during our stay, 912 wan was approximately 1 dollar. We rounded down to 900...but still...what a pain in the ass. So everytime I needed to convert, so if something costs 35,000 wan...divide 35,000 by 900 and you're close. Of course, when you're haggling for prices at a market (as is common in South Korea)...and you have no idea what the man is saying to you (he punches the prices into a calculator and shows you)...and lots of people are bumping into you...and you don't even know if you really want the damn sneakers...it's hard to divide 35,000 by 900.

Another problem suddenly occurs to me. What language do I speak? Korean is obviously not an option. Should I use Japanese greetings and numbers during conversation...or english?? What do they understand? At the airport I'm having a tough time even telling if the employees are speaking Korean or Japanese. Oh boy, oh boy!

We get on a shuttle bus and, after an hour and 15 minute nap, we're at the BIWON Hotel in Seoul. We check in, go to our rooms for about 15 minutes, and then meet back in the lobby to go someplace for dinner.

We ended up going to a Yakiniku restaurant in Myung-Dong (one of the most famous areas in Seoul for nightlife). Yakiniku is a famous type of Korean restaurant that we've had a few times while in Japan (for example, the first day at the airport). There is a grill top on your table and the servers bring you many types of meat and seafood in small slices. You put them on the grill and wait for them to finish.



It's kind of a fun way to eat because there is neverending flow of food for a little more than an hour. In the end you might not be eating as much as you would at like...Outback Steakhouse...but you're full because of the time it takes to go from selection to selection. I've never had tapas, but I think it's the same type of pacing (though, obviously, different types of food). Besides the meats, there is also an onslaught of side dishes served.



Salads, vegetables, and the Korean-staple...kimchi. We were warned that every single time you eat Korean food, kimchi would be served with it. We were not lied to. For those that are interested, kimchi is a vegetable (usually radish, cabbage, or cucumber...fermented in a mixture of green onion, ginger, chili pepper, and garlic). I'd like to thank www.wikipedia.org for helping me decipher and define what I was eating for three days.

After dinner, Chris and I break off for the group for the night and take to the streets of Seoul! Unfortunately, our stay is a Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday...which aren't really the best times to experience nightlife. HOWEVER...it turns out Seoul is a pretty lively place all the time.



I don't have much prior knowledge of Korean culture, so I ignorantly expected Seoul to feel similar to Nagoya. Actually...Seoul is pretty much the exact opposite! It's actually feels a lot like New York City...except...with kimchi instead of pretzels.

In my opinion, Koreans are actually more like Americans than they are like Japanese. The difference was SO apparent. In general, the Japanese are SO polite. They are quiet, and reserved; they avoid while passing people on the streets.

Koreans are LOUD and outgoing. They bump into people and keep walking. Seoul is much livlier than Nagoya...but also much dirtier! In Japan, you can watch for hours and never see any type of public affection. You'll be lucky to see two people holding hands in Nagoya. In Seoul, it looked like EVERYONE had a significant other.

Seoul also happens to be the queen of food wagons. I half expected to turn a corner and see Hot Truck sitting waiting for me.



You couldn't go a city block without seeing one, two, or three food vendors at any time of the night. Of course, they weren't selling greasy sandwiches...they were selling greasy chicken on a stick, or noodles, or hot danishy-type things.

It felt like every road on Myung-Dong was an alley. They weren't actually...but the streets are just SO narrow. In New York, a lot of these types of streets are not open to traffic. In Seoul...watch out! The roads are war zone in which pedestrians, cars, and motorcycles are all trying to make their claim. The motorcycles are clearer the winner...they don't appear to have to answer to any type of traffic laws. They ride in the middle of the street, the right lane, the left lane, darting between cars, often they venture on the sidwalks and dart between innocent people. If you walk around with headphones on...you're probably going to die.

It was all worth it in the end, however. Chris rounded a corner...and that's when he saw the most beautiful union of the roman alphabet characters ever created. K-R-I-S-P-Y K-R-E-M-E!!!!

"Well...we had better get a dozen."

"Yes...we had better."

And did we ever. In fact we each got a free original doughnut on the line as well...so should add that to the total.

It was a three story establishment, so went up to the second floor and did some people watching at the bar overlooking the street. It wasn't until doughnut number five or six that I started to remember that hatred for doughnuts I used to have when I was working as a lad at Dunkin' Donuts.



It was about 10PM when we decided to check out another part of the city for a few hours. We decided to head over to a college town with a few universities located in an attempt to find a good bar.

By the time we got there, it was about 10:30...and, on a Monday night, we were having a tough time finding the kind of bar we wanted (one with beer and attractive women who liked foreigners, to be exact). After we tried a few places out, we settled on a spot.

Ray was our bartender and he seemed cool enough. He was trying to ask us where we were from and all of that...communication was pretty tough. Then, after a drink, we were ready to try somewhere else until Ray (definitely not short for Raymond) exlaimed, "WAIT WAIT...IN 10 MINUTES I DO SHOW...STAY IF YOU CAN!!!"



Hmmm...a show...in this small bar? Welp...ok, I'm intrigued, Ray.

So we stayed and all of a sudden his assistant server gets on a microwave and is transformed into a DJ. We had no idea what they were saying...but they were yelling stuff...music was loud...and the lights were flashing. Occasionally everyone would start clapping and they well point to us and say "Yell now!!" or "You clap now!!!" So we did!

THEN...Ray started tossing bottles in the area. Bottles of beer, bottles of vodka...bottles of anything he could find.



Then he started using the alcohol to blow fire out of his mouth. All of this with a strobe light going on. I'm not sure exactly what I did...but I won a free shot to go with my beers...so all was well. We also each got a bracelet that looked like the "Live Strong" bracelet except it says, "It's Miller Time." Lance Armstrong would be proud.

We had heard that the subway cars starts getting pretty scarce a little after 12:00...so we said our goodbyes after midnight and made our way back to BIWON. Our stop was about a five minute walk from the hotel...this ended up taking about 45 minutes because we made stops at a 24 hour McDonalds as well as just about every piece of sidewalk art the city tempted us with. Many pictures were taken...for example...



And...yes...there is a similar hole in the butt-region of the rabbit. And...yes...I took some similar pictures in the butt-region of the rabbit.