Being awesome

The Saturday morning hash at Ichon was a little rough. I've been sticking to walking trails because running hurts my shins and I don't know how to work my way back up to it. But this walking trail blew. There were so many fucking stairs that my knees, feet, and shins still hurt today. And I have good sneakers. Meh. It ended at Yongsan Family Park, though, which was gorgeous despite gray skies. The moment we set foot in the park, the sounds of the busy streets faded away and I felt instantly calmed. Outwardly, the place is entirely unremarkable, but it's so peaceful and relaxing. I hope I have a chance to go back sometime. I highly recommend it for a short visit or picnic.

I met some new friends for lunch at Zelen, a Bulgarian place in Itaewon. The group and their vibe was fantastic, and I can't wait to go camping with them for Beltaine. The food- not as much. I liked the appetizer salads comprised of cucumber, tomato, and cheese, but the main courses were heavy meat dishes with heavy sauces. Meh.

The good company led to a shopping trip in Hongdae, but not before stopping in at the Tartine pie shop down a nearby alley in Itaewon. Oh-em-gee. We all creamed ourselves at first bite. Seriously, we sounded like an "Oh!" chorus. I got a stamp card and can't wait to go back this weekend, since I've been spending nearly every weekend out there anyway.

I didn't know there was shopping in Hongdae. I've also never been there in daylight. But we stopped in at a piercing shop, a condom shop, and a craft fair at the playground. It happens every Saturday, but this was the first I'd heard of it. There was handmade jewelry, t-shirts, hair goods, leather goods, postcards, caricatures, beautiful paintings, and more. This is another event I recommend for those who can appreciate the folksy feel to it.

(I'm I am here, where in the hell is the demon?)

One of our party led us to Club Oi for a drink, though I only had time to poke my head in. I'd read about the place, but the article's photos could hardly do it justice. It's like something from the mind of Gaudi. Good music, too. Love it.

I had dinner with the students from the free Korean lessons I used to attend before I found more interesting things to do with my Saturday afternoons. I can now say I don't like Japanese food. And not just because they forgot my order, brought it out an hour after everything else, and it burned the hell off the roof of my mouth. Anyway, as the party of 12 broke up, 4 of us headed to the Aussie Bar in Itaewon. I've been wanting to go but hadn't had the chance. I'd tell you how it was, except we didn't even go in because it was crowded. Instead, we grabbed a little table on the patio and shared a carafe of an awesome house red. Yum.

Sufficiently buzzed, I made my way down the block to Bless U, where two hashers' joint birthday and goodbye party was just getting started. Free drinks from new friends for my broke ass ftw! The party moved to an apartment up the street and then back out around various bars I couldn't possibly remember. I was pretty smashed, had only bought myself one drink all night, and had a hell of a time. Things finally wound down in McDonald's with a desperately needed burger and horrendous fries before heading to a friend's place to crash for a bit before calling the party host in the a.m. to retrieve my overnight bag.

I woke up still drunk and barely headed off a surely stupendous hangover with a bottle of juice and breakfast at Paris Baguette while debating whether to go home or show up for the event to which I'd R.S.V.P.ed. I cleaned up in a subway bathroom, brushed my teeth, changed my socks, applied makeup, and felt miraculously better. So I made my way to a zoo outing with 20 adults and 15 Korean orphans.

I can't believe I'd forgotten why I hate zoos. A mere 10 minutes inside the gate, I remembered. Bleck. What a miserable place. Anyway, the kids were cute and sweet and amazingly well-behaved, thereby debunking my hypothesis about my students' parents not beating them enough. Damn. They had a blast and we got to see an unremarkable dolphin show and hit Baskin Robbins before finally heading home. Oh yeah, told the kids we'd get ice cream, but they wanted silkworm larvae. What a sad, sad childhood to have in Korea, not allowed to be adopted after 6 months of age and choosing bugs over ice cream.

A Christmis-adventure

A teacher I work with gave me directions to a Catholic Church near me. I followed them with no luck until a Korean family turned onto the sidewalk in front of me, the two children wearing hand decorated felt Santa hats and the father carrying a Bible. Deciding this must be divine providence, I followed them...to Dream Methodist Church. Meh. Christmas service is Christmas service, right? I witnessed no smiting, so I assume it's no biggy in God's book.

The preacher wore black slacks in the Korean style- poorly tailored and unhemmed, folds falling in bunches at his ankles, offending even my limited fashion senses- with a fancy white suit jacket and black bow-tie. He had a melodious voice despite the language- too many k's, ch's, and sh's, I think- but this quickly changed as the sermon rose to a zealous pitch. I didn't know a word he said, but I do know it was nothing to do with Christmas or love. I zoned out as he droned on, thinking what I would preach for Christmas. (I decided on the miracle of Jesus' birth with a focus on the reality Mary suffered instead of the pretty nativity pictures we see.) And then I wondered what the heck Koreans celebrate on Christmas, because I haven't seen a single manger scene all month.* Wtf, yo? And then cue eucharist preparation with the goriest scenes from some crucifixion movie on the jumbo screens. I found this vile and offensive on Christmas day. Oh well, it would probably be the last time I attend church while in Korea.**

I found the ice rink at Gwanghwamun with no trouble. But I failed to anticipate that half of Seoul would turn out for ice skating on Christmas day. I don't mind the crowds, but I would have waited in line for a ticket longer than I could skate, so I got back on the train to Itaewon.

I couldn't remember which exit I was supposed to take, but I guessed correctly, found Suji's, and still had two hours to burn. Luckily, there is a sizable market on the same street and hella good coffee. I got some awesome stripy socks for W2,000 but didn't care for the prices of anything else I saw on the street. Until I saw some coin scarves in the window. I went in, checked out their quality, and asked about the price. W30,000 for the white velvet one I was eyeing- I'll take it! I know you're supposed to haggle in SK, but that was half of what I could expect to pay for the same item back home, so it completely slipped my mind.

Now if I can only find a place to belly dance. Hell, I might just wear it to Hongdae.

Dinner was OK, but I can't believe I paid that much for it. There was pastrami, turkey, ham & pineapple, salad, mashed potatoes, stuffing, cranberry sauce, and a green been dish. The food wasn't as warm as I would have liked and was a bit bland, but where else am I going to get an American Christmas dinner in Korea? The eggnog was OK, and the pumpkin pie dessert was stellar. It started snowing while I ate, and the atmosphere was quite lovely. The baby at the table next to me had me laughing all evening while he played the "throw everything I can get my hands on onto the floor for the servers to pick up" game.

I decided to head home after that and spend the rest of the evening warm at my place.

*I asked a coworker the next day, and he explained to me that Koreans celebrate Christmas as a western holiday of gift-giving and don't know the history of it.
**Four days later my boss' wife is asking me to come to church with her family regularly because Dream Methodist is where they attend.

Can't wait for Christmas

Manhattan's is having a Christmas Eve party, so that's my plan for tomorrow after work. Hopefully a lot of foriegners will decide to come. Hopefully I won't run into the ex there.

A teacher I work with gave me directions to the nearest Catholic Church so I can go to mass on Christmas at 10 a.m. (10 a.m.? Koreans make for lazy Catholics. No midnight mass, no 8 a.m. masses. On Sundays, the earliest is 11 a.m.) No English masses, though. It's a good bit of a walk, maybe 20-30 minutes, but it's forecast to be a whole 41F with a 30% chance of snow. I've seen lots of snow on every 20% day so far, so I'm looking forward to a white Christmas.

Then I have some down time for a few hours, and I plan to go ice skating around 3 at Gwanghwamun to work up an appetite, Christmas dinner at 6 at Suji's in Itaewon with turkey, eggnog and pie. I have been missing pie so much since I got here! I actually made my first batch of homemade eggnog last night. Thanks to a poorly written recipe, I overcooked the first batch, but I modified the recipe and the second turned out very yummy.

Mix 2 eggs, 1/3 cup sugar, 2 cups of milk on low heat for 5-10 minutes while stirring. Chill (optional), add in 2/3 cup whipping cream and dashes of cinnamon, clove powder, and nutmeg to taste. Optional- tsp vanilla or rum extract. And yes, I found all the ingredients right here in Korea! I rock. And I bought WAY to much whipping cream, so I guess I'll just have to make more.

After dinner I may go back to Gwanghwamun for the lights show and holiday exhibits or chill at a coffee shop or something in Itaewon.

I wanted everyone to know I will not be sitting at home all alone for Christmas, and I will tell you how it all turns out.