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Week 23- Y4(Aug 17th to Aug 23rd) |
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Sunday:
Today Fred, Ashid and Hassan were in a b-boy competition, so I went to cheer them on! They were totally awesome and came in 3rd place, though I think they deserved to win! It was really funny seeing the Korean b-boys, because while technically really really strong, they were all scrawny little teenagers who didn't have the "b-boy" image at all. It's funny how in the Western world, breakdancing is seen as kind of a ghetto street dance (which I think is kind of unfair: it's a very physically demanding artform, and deserves more respect), whereas in Korea there is no social taboo about breakdancing, so kids can start studying early. Korea is known for having the best breakdancers worldwide. That said, I thought that Fred, Ashid and Hassan listened and danced with more musicality and a more creative style. They deserved to win, or at least come in 2nd place! But I guess 3rd is pretty good too . . .
After the competition, we tried to find somewhere to eat, which of course is always an adventure with Ashid and Hassan. We ended up having to send their dishes back because they had meat in them. And then finally, after a long subway ride and a long day for the guys, home and to bed!
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Today the French breakdancers had a "battle". This is a situation where different crews will dance, usually 3 against 3, and whoever has the best tricks/skills/musicality will proceed to the next level until they're down to only 2 crews. It was really fun to watch: breakdancing is extremely phyisically demanding, and requires a lot of energy and training. Fred is really really talented! I was totally impressed. It was funny watching the Korean dancers, because they all look about 12 years old and nerdy, and they're hip hop dancers! The juxtaposition between the image of the typical hip hop lifestyle versus the childlike Korean kids was pretty weird. Anyway, as in most things, the Korean dancers were very technical, but certainly lacking in musicality, so I actually preferred watching Fred, Rashid and Hassan. They made it to 3rd place but I thought they deserved to win!
After the competition, we were looking for somewhere to eat. Again, same problem find a) vegetarian food and b) non-spicy food. Fred and Adrien are easy to take care of, but man! I feel like I'm babysitting Rashid and Hassan half the time. As it turned out, the dish that they ordered did have meat in it (which, according to some vegetarian friends, actually happens a lot in Korea-- like allergies, special diets are not easily understood here), so we had to send it back and pay for another 2 dishes, which Rashid didn't like or eat anyway. Gah.
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Tuesday:
My last week of freedom before I go back to school! I've been trying to prep my classes, but since the schedule isn't even finished yet, there's no point! So instead . . . I've been hanging out lots with Fred! Might as well relish my last free days . . .
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Friday:
Early this morning, Fred, Adrien, Rashid, Hassan and I headed to the bus station to go to Gyeongju! The reason for this trip was for me to say goodbye to Allison and Nic (remember the cool Canadian couple I met in the Philippines?) on their last weekend, but I thought it would be a good chance for the guys to get out of the city and discover what the rest of Korea really looks like (Seoul is not the best representative!) Notice that I didn't invite Max . . . I'm still finding him really obnoxious, and while I felt slightly guilty about not inviting him at all, the thought of spending an entire weekend with him was enough to ease my guilt! That said, I'm worried about leaving him alone in the apartment for a whole weekend . . .
After a 4 hour bus ride, Nic met us at the bus station to play tour guide for the day. Unfortunately, it was pouring rain, which put a little damper on our plans. First stop was our motel, which ended up causing some problems because it was more expensive than we had originally planned. Of course, with the French boys, this means endless debate and commentary until finally we can get things moving. This could turn into a weekend of babysitting . . .
When everything was cool at the motel, we grabbed taxis and went out to Bulguksa Temple, one of the most famous temples in Korea. We also went up to Seoksuram Grotto, which features a large seated Buddha statue. It was really foggy and still raining pretty hard, so it was hard to get good pictures, but at least the boys got a little taste of traditional Korea. Fred, being Cambodian and Buddhist, definitely appreciated the temple the most.
When Allison finished work, she met up with us and we all went to dinner. Allison is a godsend! She's super organized and her French is way better than mine! She came up with the idea of going to a Vietnamese restaurant that had vegetarian dishes right away, and everyone was satisfied. Two Gyeongju friends, Lizzie and Kelly joined us for dinner as well. Though I discovered soon enough that these were not actually friends of Allison and Nic's! I guess I had forgotten my Daegu days, where the foreigner crowd is so small that you don't actually get to choose your friends . . . anyway Lizzie and Kelly were totally ridiculous and vapid, but ha! It was entertaining to watch Lizzie chase Fred around the bar trying to flirt with him! Some other friends joined us at the bar after dinner, and before we knew it, we were having a party in our motel room! Fred had brought some speakers, so we had a lot of tunes, 3 breakdancers and 2 salsa dancers (Maria and
I)-- the only option was to have a dance party! SO much fun, and very much an "only-in-Korea" kind of night.
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Saturday:
Okay, really difficult to get everyone moving today! Maria, an awesome Mexican girl that we met last night, had offered to take us out around Gyeongju this afternoon before the big going-away party. She called around 1pm, and I went up to check on the boys to find them all fast asleep. Fred and I went for breakfast and instructed the other guys to get ready while we were gone. 4pm: still in bed!!!! And now an hour late to meet Maria . . . gah! I was not impressed. I hate wasting time, especially when you only have a couple of days in a place, and especially when it inconveniences someone else. I've learned that moving 4 Frenchmen is like trying to move mountains. Finally at about 5pm, we met up with Maria (and Lizzie and Kelly) at Tumuli Park, which features the tombs of some of the most important historical kings of ancient Korea. Tombs here are built in a large grassy mound shape-- the bigger the mound, the more important the dead person.
Inside looks about the same I'd imagine a pyramid to look. After the park, Maria led us to Wolseong Park, where there's an ancient observatory, and to the old ice house, which is along a pretty path. We also saw some buildings that used to be part of a palace (the rest of the palace is no longer standing) and a huge lily pond. Maria is really cool, and definitely knows her way around this town!
By this point, we were actually a little late for the big dinner, so we grabbed a couple cabs and headed over to the dalkgalbi restaurant. Now Korean restaurants tend to specialize in only one dish, and dalkgalbi is a spicy stirfried chicken dish. So I was worried about the meat, and the spice level. But like I said, Allison is a godsend! She had already arranged for one of the table to only get fried rice with vegetables, and another table to be less spicy. She's on the ball! (That said, Rashid and Hassan still thought it was too spicy) It was great to spend a lot of time with Allison and Nic, and also Ava and Alan, who stayed at my place a couple months ago. I also met an awesome Australian girl named Jaime. She's really cool and fun and adventurous. And she's just about to leave Korea . . . I always meet cool people right before I leave or they leave! Jaime is backpacking through Southeast Asia, and then going to teach in Japan. This part
is cool: she's actually going to the village in Cambodia where Fred's family is from! So the three of us had a great long talk about Cambodia and backpacking there. (I really want to go back to Cambodia now!) The goodbye party was huge and filled most of the restaurant and bar, but ironically, Allison was kind of unhappy because most of them were not really friends. Good to know that there are a few cool people around though, like Maria and Jaime. After the bar, we ended up in a noraebang, which I actually hate, but everyone else seems to love. Anyway, there were enough drunken people there that I didn't have to sing, but I still had to listen to other people singing terribly! After about an hour, I'd had enough, and for once the Frenchies were in agreement, and we all left without too much delay.
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