Sean's Summer
Journal Entries - Week Six
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Sunday,
20 July 2008
I hadn’t really done much of what I wanted this weekend, so I decided to
just get out and do stuff today. I got up and went to a sauna. I’d heard these
things were cool, but they seemed a little weird. People go sit in them naked,
and somehow that just didn’t sound appealing. But, I decided to give it a shot
and see what all the fuss was about. I checked in at the front desk and paid
something like $6. You have to take your shoes off most places before you walk
in on the floor, unless it’s a restaurant…but sometimes even then. I took my
shoes off in the main lobby and put them in a shoe locker and gave the key to my
shoes to the desk clerk, and then she gave me another key for a locker in the
sauna area. Someone had to go with me to show me what the place was all about
and how it worked, but once I got down the stairs and through the twisting
hallway, I found myself in the locker room and the rest was fairly explanatory.
Once you lock your stuff up, you can go take a shower and jump in the sauna.
It’s a hot mineral spring, actually, with several sections set up for
different temperatures. They even put this green stuff in it, which smelled a
little like pine needles and makes your skin soft. There’s a traditional sauna
room on the side, there are multiple showers and a massage area on the other
side, and it’s segregated by sex. Males have one area and the females have a
separate area down the hall. After you shower and sit in the “sauna” (hot
spring) for a while, you can go back into the locker room and put on some
clothes that they give you when you check in. Soft shorts and a soft shirt. They
have hair dryers, oils, creams, colognes, q-tips, nail files and clippers, extra
towels, and soaps all right there for you. There are TVs in the locker room so
you can sit and watch dramas or the news. If you go outside the locker room,
there are sweat rooms, massage chairs, a room for you to get a mat and sleep on
the floor, another massage parlor, a small gym, and a collective gathering room
for men and women. This place was really cool. Very relaxing. And apparently
people come to the sauna after they’ve been drinking the night before, which I
didn’t know.
After an hour or so at the sauna I left and headed to the Korea National
Museum. Korea has numbered its National Treasures and Artifacts, and many of
them are on display at the museum. I spent all afternoon at the Museum, while it
was pouring rain outside from the monsoon, and I only got through the first
floor by the time they closed at 1900. There were still two more floors and a
special exhibit to see, but I saw what I really came for. I wanted to see the
old archaeological pieces, relics of the old kingdoms, and remnants of various
writings, paintings, stele, and carvings. That was really nice, but every time I
stopped to watch one of the documentary videos I started drifting off to sleep.
I left at 1900, when they closed, and walked out to the subway station in the
pouring rain. I had my rain jacked, which kept me dry from the upper thigh up,
but everything else got soaked. Luckily I was headed back to my room.
Monday,
21 July 200
Things were going well today until I got to my second class. The
instructor had fractured her foot, or ankle, or toe, or something, and had been
walking around on crutches for a week. But today the ISC Program Manager came in
and told us the instructor left early in the morning to go back to the U.S. for
surgery. They were going to try to teleconference the classes starting tomorrow,
but today’s class was cancelled. Apparently the Program Manager didn’t know
she was leaving until last minute.
Well, that gave me some time to work on things that I’d been trying to
accomplish for a while. I had talked to people about my Fulbright Scholarship
application and requirements, so I’d sent a round of emails out to Kansas and
Korea University officials. I also went to talk to people about the Korean
language programs available. I was getting things straightened out for my
application, but I needed to find a sponsor. The Program Manager went with me
today back to the language center to get more information, and I found out that
I needed to find a sponsor on my own instead of through Korea University…they
have a separate Fulbright Scholarship office for Korean students, apparently.
But, they did give me some ideas, so it wasn’t a complete loss.
I’ve been having another problem that I’m trying to fix, as well. I
have to certify my enrollment at Korea U. for the VA so I can get my G.I. Bill
money. The VA Certifying Official hadn’t responded to my emails and there was
no way to find him through the University. I contacted Kansas University last
week and found out that the guy I needed to talk to left Korea University four
years ago. That’s helpful. Now what?! Well, I found the guy that replaced him
after another round of emails and went to talk to him. He wasn’t a Certifying
Official yet, but he told me he’d work on it for me. We’ll just have to wait
and see what happens.
In the evening we had a floor meeting at a restaurant. We discussed a
couple of rules that some people weren’t abiding by and then ate a
buffet…but not quite Korean style. I met a Japanese guy who spoke better
Korean than English, so I talked to him for a while in Korea. That was strange.
Oh, and I never realized that Singaporeans could eat like that…it was a
marathon. Everyone else was done in 20-30 minutes, but these guys ate for almost
an hour and a half. Not fast, just slow and steady. Well, we accomplished what
we set out to do, so we headed back, but a bunch of us stopped for a beer on the
way. Just one. We sat outside and talked for about half an hour, then a bunch of
them left with some of the girls from the dorm walking down the hill and I
headed back up. I’d met a young French woman the night before at the dorm, a
full-time student, and she was headed up the hill, too, so we walked together.
That hill is a pain in the ass, let me tell you. But, after climbing the hill to
the dorm, I went to bed.
Tuesday,
22 July 2008
We were supposed to have the I.R. class again today, but it was cancelled
a second time. The Program Manager, Jennifer Kim, took several of us out for
lunch instead, so it wasn’t a complete waste. The instructor said her
condition was worse than anyone expected and she wasn’t doing so well. Anyway,
after lunch I stopped at the post office to pick up a box so I could mail a
bunch of this crap I’ve accumulated back to the States, which I’d intended
to do for a while. I brought 4 pairs of pants, for example, and I haven’t worn
them once…it’s too damn hot. Plus the vases, box, stamp, souvenirs,
t-shirts, etc… It worked out well.
I spent the afternoon typing out additional emails, writing an
assignment, checking email, and I went to the gym later in the evening.
Wednesday,
23 July 2008
Well, we had our I.R. class today. It was teleconferenced from
Pennsylvania through Skype. She showed us a video by playing it on her TV and
adjusting her camera so we could see it. It wasn’t ideal, but it got the job
done.
There was a large college party scheduled tonight for all the Universities
getting ready to end the summer semester and begin the Fall semester (what they
call the 2nd semester). I went to Hongdae to check it out, but got
there too early. Apparently they don’t really start until 2300. I wandered
around for a while, got lost several times, and finally found my way back. There
are some really funny names for clubs and restaurants in Hongdae. For example,
the HO bar (I-VIII and the Luxury HO Bar), which gets its name from the Chinese
character Hao (好), which means good, but in
Korean it’s pronounced Ho. Hongdae is short for Hongik Daehakkyo (Hongik
University). But the area around the University is a huge shopping and club
district. There are several universities in the area…I think I’m repeating
myself here. Just in case, there’s Hongik, Ewha, Seoul National, Yonsei, and I
think one or two more smaller ones all in relatively the same area of Seoul,
kind of in west-central Seoul. Korea University is the odd one out and is
located in the Northeast part of Seoul. Well, once people started arriving
things really picked up; however, I didn’t recognize anyone from Korea U. I
waited until about midnight and then caught a taxi home. It was cool to witness
a Korean club, but it was more or less a waste of my time. Maybe I’m too old.
Anyway, the rain was pouring down by the time I left and I didn’t have my
jacket with me. Who knew it was going to rain during the monsoon season? I had
to catch a taxi.
Thursday,
24 July 2008
Today was just another regular day. Nothing exciting. But later in the
evening I went to Itaewon to hang out at Seoul Pub.
Friday,
25 July 2008
Well, I slept the morning away. But, during the afternoon I went to
Yongsan Army Base to pick up my ration card and go to the PX. I needed to pick
up a few things and got my roommate some stain remover for his clothes. I took a
taxi because I thought it would be faster than taking the subway, but boy was I
wrong. Daytime traffic in Seoul is miserable and the city is so big it takes
forever to get anywhere. I’m sure the driver probably took me on a short
detour to run up the bill, but I can’t really tell. The total wasn’t much
more than what I’d paid before, so I wasn’t terribly upset. My problem,
though, was that the driver couldn’t drive onto post because he wasn’t
licensed or certified through the Army. I talked to the gate guard for a little
bit, but he didn’t really speak any English and I couldn’t explain to him
where I needed to go. A short while later, though, a nice Korean woman drove
through and the guard asked her if she could drive me somewhere. She spoke
English and knew exactly where I needed to go. I got lucky. I picked up my card
just before they closed (they close early) and headed to the PX. Gotta love the
retiree benefits. I bought my stuff and headed out to the subway. That was quite
a walk.
By the evening, I was ready to start again. I tried to contact Chris and
Sangdo, but couldn’t get in touch with anyone.
Robin was working and Jinyoung was busy with his girlfriend. So, I just
made small talk with the people around me. There are some regulars from the
Saudi embassy who speak Korean very well and speak English even better. I’m
not sure they’re Saudis, though. I don’t quite understand their situation,
but they’re always fun to talk to. I also met Suhui, who I’d met once before
somewhere else, but never figured I’d see her again. She came in to the bar
after work and recognized me, so we started chatting. We hung out all night and
then went to see the Han River. Supposedly, lots of people go walk along the
river in the early morning. It’s reportedly a Seoul pastime, but I imagine
that’s just for the older people. Anyway, since we’ve been getting so much
rain lately the river was flooded and most of the trails and sidewalks around
the river were blocked off. I think one of the subway stations was closed
because of it, too. Well, I hung around just long enough to take a couple
pictures of the river and that was enough. Suhui took a taxi back home and I
caught the subway back to the dorm.