Day 14: The Sight of a Thousand Lifeless Bodies

It took Jean and I about an hour and a half to get there. it was far outside the city where the rent was cheap and the noises wouldn't disturb. As the aroma overcame me, KyuSeuk said, "and if you look in that room, you'll see the limbs." The dark liquid was splattered on the wall and covered the floor, making it almost impossible to walk on without getting it on your shoes; the carving instruments hanging on the wall, shining as if they had done a good job. we walked from room to room observing the master's work while shouting over the heavy machinery that transported the lifeless bodies. The warehouse was the most surprising, with the thousands, standing in rows, yet not a breath in their structures. It was very interesting how the mannequin business worked, and a little creepy to say the least.
After the tour, KyuSeouk took us out to lunch to eat some Shabu-Shabu (this was the 3rd day in a row that i had eaten this... its becoming a very popular dish here i guess - but becoming less popular every time i eat it each day in a row) and we talked shop. We talked about how successful a mannequin business from Korea would be in the states. I shot him some of my business ideas and he gave me some connections of people he knew in korea that could give me a good start. (maybe even financial backing...KyuSeuk is a high roller, so i'm guessing that his friends are high rollers too.) then we hiked back to the bus stop and gave the driver 2000 won (which is about $2.00) to get us back to the city. Jean and i both fell asleep and woke up a few stations farther away than our destination. Jean was running out of time before he had to go practice his driving at the driving school, but we both made time for some Dunkin' Doughnuts.

Day 13: the christian rock info-mercial

if i was into priestcraft, i'd sure be up for a good ol' time at kim young's church. I kept my agreement today and went with her to her service at SaRang Church. (사랑의 교회) i've been to a lot of churches, but this was more of a rock stage with Jesus' name plastered around. it was pretty impressive though. i'm guessing that people go and feel that they had such a good time that they should pay the people for entertaining them for an hour and a half. (or because the donation bag is passed around and all eyes are on you.) more than half of the time was consumed in the congregations singing christian rock songs, only to repeat the exact same words over and over again. (most of the time it was: Jesus, we praise you. i think i sang those words over 75 times.) the rest of the 45 minutes was a stand up comedy act or chanting your own prayers out loud. it was pretty funny, and i'd come back every sunday just to see that show again. heck, i might even look into it for myself. it could be a good career move.

day 12: the 101st day celebration

Sitting on a hard wood floor becomes pretty uncomfortable after a while. the typhoon weather is sure taking a toll here and so we've been spending a lot of time inside... with no furniture. Jean was feeling a little cabin feverish in my little living quarters, so we've been studying at his parent's. its a pretty nice apartment, with large windows, a huge t.v. and absolutely nothing to sit on.

anyways, kim young invited us to a first birthday party for her cousin's daughter, and i couldn't pass up any opportunity to get my aching backside off the ground. plus, there was going to be free food. when we got to the building, we found that it was going to be held in the top floor of one the biggest buildings in the area. we rode the elevator to the top, only to find ourselves a little out of place. well, when i say we, i mostly mean just mean me. you know those old country westerns when the outlaw goes into the saloon and the piano stops playing the the bar tender slowly hides behind the counter? it was like that, but more modern and more a lot more balloons. i found kim young, shook some hands, did a lot of bowing, and everything went back to normal. they had the biggest buffet i had ever seen in my life, full of sushi and soups and other good stuff. we packed our stomachs full and then watched the 돌잔치. its when the baby hits its 101 day mark. they put all sorts of items in front of it and have it pick something which will determine what the baby will end up doing for the rest of its life. they have a microphone, which represents music; money, which represents business; rice, which represents food; a long string, which represents a long life; and pencils, which represent learning. its way funny to see the parent's reaction when the baby picks up something. then they take a lot of pictures, give out a lot of rice cakes, and call it a night.

oh yeah, that place is really called "Hunt Kids." catchy name, isn't it?

Day 11: the wild goose chase

whats black, white, and red all over? a heat exhausted mike nelson wearing a black shirt. Kim Young called me last night and asked me to meet her in 이태원 (little america). I called Jean to tell him that we were going to meet at 10 instead of 12, but he didn't answer his phone. so i slept on it thinking that i'd just call him in the morning. then i awoke to a dead phone (again...). so i went on a wild goose chase trying to figure out how to get a hold of him before i left. i got pretty desperate, so i just asked a stranger on the street if i could use their phone. surprisingly, they didn't even think twice. Jean didn't answer because he was sleeping, of course.

I told the land lady what happened (through a lot of grunts and body language... much like the cave men i saw yesterday) and conveyed a message that if Jean showed up, to tell him that i went to little america. I hopped on the subway and rode it to my destination. I barely made it by 10:00 to the stop that we agreed on, but there was no sign of kim young, so i waited for a little bit. i waited for about another half an hour and then went to find another phone. after another struggle, i got a hold of her. she called this morning and left a message that she couldn't make it. but then when i didn't call her back, she started to get worried, so she called Jean. then Jean ran for 20 minutes to my house, only to find me not there and a land lord acting out grunts to him. so, he called Kim Young up and told her that i wasn't there. she hopped in a taxi and was a block away when i finally got a hold of her. i don't know what the big deal was. i made it there just fine, so i could make it back just as well if needed. anyways, she and i walked around little america for a little bit in the blistering sun (didn't she notice what i was wearing?) and ate at ColdStone. then she showed me a house that she owns that she is renting out. this thing could have been in a horror movie with the barred windows, stray dogs, and graffiti. (which was the first time i had seen that kind of thing in korea.)

Jean met up with us for lunch and we went to the little america's town that is like Beverly hills. (thats why i was semi dressed up) it was a nice restaurant that served geese. with how civilized these people are, you'd think that they would stop killing and eating everything that moved. (I say that because i found out this morning that silk worm is a delicacy.) We then visited the only Islam temple in Korea, hit up some books/cd stores, and caught the train home.

Day 10: The Road Rage to Prehistory

When Jean showed up today, he asked if i was hungry. that was no big surprise, because he asks that everyday. (mostly because he'd rather eat than do english.) but today was different because his parents wanted to take me to lunch. I said that would be awesome and so they came and picked us up at 1:00. it wasn't awesome.

the next 40 minutes were filled with prayers to god that he would spare my life. Jean's dad isn't the worst driver on this side of the mississippi, but he sure isn't good. and it sure didn't get better when he was cut off by a motorcyclist. we swerved in and out of traffic just so he could catch up and say some choice words to the fellow. (luckily i never learned those words, so i had no clue what he said to the guy. maybe it was a, "hey, sorry to bother you, but maybe next time would you be more considerate to your fellow motorists?" and he was just saying it loudly because of the noise. i'll give him the benefit of the doubt.) anyways, after the ordeal, and trying to keep my pants dry, i asked Jean where we were headed. Lunch didn't seem like an all day event and we had been driving for a while. he told me we were going to lunch with a look like, "duh, i already told you... can't you remember?" we finally arrived at this little shack of a place and sat down for lunch. we had this noodle soup with all the magical creatures of the deep blue sea: clams, crab, shrimp, octopus, squid, seaweed, and there probably was some coral in there too. I don't know. I don't think that it was worth an hour there or hour back, but maybe they just enjoyed the drive or something...

They dropped us off at what Jean called "prehistory". it is an archeoligical site of the netho-something people that lived in korea around 3000 b.c. it kind of looked like jurrasic park, but in a much older korean style. at this point, i didn't know what it was, and i asked Jean if they would allow us to ride the dinosaurs. (Jean is going to have the weirdest view of americans when i leave...) unfortunately, there weren't any dinosaurs, but there were really cool things, such as: broken pieces of clay, straw, sticks, a few bones, mannequins dressed in fur, and a few big maps that i couldn't read. it was sweet! you could go in one of the prehistoric huts and check it out, but no body was going in, so i tried to get a big group to go in with me. (you kind of had to crawl to get into the big room.) my efforts died in vain.

(but check out the cool pictures and video!)

day 9: the rain and sweat

today it rained... hard. we didn't do anything because Jean was on his last t-shirt for a couple days and didn't want to get it smelling like a musty city. (most people have to go to a laundromat here and its kind of expensive.) so we stayed inside and studied. then i finally talked him into going to get something to eat. it wasn't that good.

he left to go take his driver's license test and i went out and studied in a little cafe. it was funny how people would say: "look, a foreigner!" i just kept on drinking Sweat. (thats the name of the drink. well, actually its Pokery Sweat) what a great name for a drink, eh?

Day 8: the return to familiar territory

Jean and I studied for a little bit this morning and i made him explain what his ideal girl would be. oddly enough, i imagined Jean with a wig when he was done. anyways, we went back to Technomart again today. we ate sushi at the food court and went upstairs to wait in the long line for our customer service rep to help us. they wear these hideous orange sweaters. (sorry, that was a tangent...) so we were almost up and i reached in my bag to get my passport, only to find it not there. then i realized that i hadn't actually put it in my bag, but it was still sitting on my bed. so, we hopped back on the bus back home. it only actually took us 20 minutes to get home. yesterday Jean missed our stop so we drove around for a while until we came to one that we could get off on, so going back home wasn't a big deal. we grabbed the passport, returned once again to Technomart, and got my cell phone working. I know you could care less about what it looks like, but i'll humor you with a photo. its got a 4 mega pixel camera, 1 gig memory chip, and connects to the internet for only $10 dollars a month. (this is a pay as you go phone too.) man, i wish america would jump on this band wagon!

Jean had a hot date with his girlfriend, so he left me to my own devices for the evening. i helped the missionaries teach english class and i remembered how much i don't miss that. their class is huge though! they probably had about 55 people show up. they divide everyone up into levels. i got the beginning level which was ok, because its mostly just acting instead of teaching. then Jean's uncle called me up and asked me to come to dinner with him. i hopped on the subway to the restaurant and we ate some weird noodle stuff. he's a pretty funny guy for how much i understand. i found out that he's funding most of this for Jean. (even though Jean's parents make bank at their restaurant. its packed until 3 am everyday.) after force feeding me once again, we made arrangements for some more sight seeing and better sushi restaurants.

Day 7: the Technomart

i am pretty sure why star trek fans are such huge fans of asia. today we went to Technomart - a 12 story mall full of electronics (see picture). My phone doesn't work and there they have the customer service for my provider, which is SK. (man, SK keeps on coming back and biting me in the butt!) there were rows and rows of everything you could imagine. anyways, the place was packed with shoppers and we waited over an hour to talk to somebody. well, it turns out that they couldn't help me without a passport since i would be the primary user of the phone. sadly, my passport was back at my apartment, which was a 40 minute subway ride. so, we made the best of it and went and saw a movie (which is the top floor of Technomart).

Then we met up with Jean's aunt for dinner. we had 갈비 which you cook right in front of you. it was super good, but you leave smelling like meat. Jean's cousin came too, and Jean told her how i had dog meat. she didn't say much to me the rest of the night and i asked Jean if she was upset. he told me that she is a dog beautician. i didn't need to ask any more questions.

Day 6: the North Korean Spy Game

I was supposed to go to church with Kim Young today. (It was a deal that i made a long time ago.) the bad thing is that you have to have some type of nifty card to use the public phones here, and i don't know where to get one. so, i couldn't call her and ask for directions... meaning that i went to the mormon church. i made a pretty big idiot of myself in sunday school. they were talking about the anti-nephi-lehis and i thought, "yeah, i've got this in the bag if they ask me a question. i know that story like the back of my hand." well, turns out that i nailed the story, but flopped the question. they pulled a fast one on me and changed the subject 30 seconds before i got the question. i had no clue. after giving my grand sermon on how we too must bury our weapons, temptations, and sins, the girl next to me leaned over and said: "uh... we are talking about different thing." i slumped right back into my chair.

When sacrament started, Jean showed up. (I left a note just in case he was feeling better and wanted to study today.) I was thinking, "sweet! i didn't even have to extend an invitation and he came. why wasn't my mission this easy?!" then he said, "we must go. my parents waiting." i hadn't met Jean's parents before, and i didn't want to make a bad impression, so i packed up my things and left. his parents were parked around the corner in a van, dieing in the heat. I did the bows and and all that jazz, and they ushered me into the van. i didn't know where we were going, but everyone seemed excited about it. we pulled up to this tiny place that was crowded with people. i soon realized that we were at a restaurant waiting to be served. we sat on the floor (my legs still aren't getting adjusted to sitting indian style for an hour) and i asked what we were going to eat. they said, "보신탕. Jean said you wanted to eat 보신탕." I had no idea what 보신탕 was, so i said, "yeah, sure. sounds delicious." they brought it out and it was just like anything i had eaten before in any korean place. the beef was really tender and fatty, but other than that, it was just another traditional meal. when we walked out i told Jean that it was really delicious. His uncle turned to me and said, "that was dog. i didn't think you were going to like it, but i'm glad." I had previously made a lot of jokes about eating dog with jean, but i then realized that hadn't probably picked up on my sarcasm. oh well, it tasted good!

we hopped back in the van and we kept driving for about an hour, until we finally arrived at the DMZ. this is where the North Koreans and the South Koreans have their border. its divided a river, and the only thing that connects the two sides is a rebuilt bridge that is built next to one that was blown up. we stood on one side of the river and stared down those dirty northerners. i was pretty intimidating, so i think they'll be signing a treaty pretty soon. and i know they saw me because i was the only white guy there, and especially because i was the only person wearing a shirt and tie.

The good thing about it the trip was that they have turned it into an amusement park to show off how much fun it is to be free. The sad thing is that it was 10 times as bad as Lagoon. I don't know which is better, walking around in a shirt and tie in an amusement park, or going on spinning, loopy, and crazy roller coasters on a stomach full of dog meat. i almost lost it on the "super viking" which was a ship that went back and forth high and higher in the air. The lagoon has one just like it next to the swings, but this one has such a cooler name. plus, when the koreans say it, it comes out as "shoopah biking". thats worth it right there.

we finished the night off by eating at Jean's parents' restaurant. they own this amazing chicken place that puts every Boston market, KFC, and Popeyes in the dust. (its a sit down restaurant though.) i don't like fried chicken, but this stuff must have been drenched in MSG or something because it was amazing. i was introduced to the whole staff and we ate next to the kitchen because the place was packed from wall to wall. and when we left, my stomach was packed from wall to wall with the dogs fighting the chickens. i sure hope one of them wins before i fall asleep!

Day 5: the sign

day 5 was pretty uneventful. Jean was super sick, so he stayed home, which left me to wander through the city. it would have been fun, except God decided to make it rain all day, which dampened my exploring spirit. i ended up working on the english program and then i watched some korean dramas. i finally got hungry enough to go get a bite to eat, and when i did, there were the mormon boys walking down street. turns out that the church is only a 15 minute walk away from where i am staying. i wouldn't have ever been able to find it if they didn't draw me a map. its its down this skinny alleyway that doesn't have a street name. (that is pretty typical here.) anyways, on the walk back, my hands became extremely sticky from a sweet bread that i bought from a street vendor. so, i started looking for a bathroom and i came across this sign. "disabled man bathroom"...person wearing a skirt... you do the math. maybe this just means that only gay people are handicapped? hmmm... i'll have to sleep on this one