Annyung-ha-seh-yo!
Checkin' in from a local cafe (internet access woot woot!)....just started my day technically (had a company din last which means lotsa meat + soju, then left for norae-bang or karaoke, checked out a casino which was interestin' to observe though given I am so risk averse esp. when it comes to gambling prolly not exactly my niche, & finally danced the night away at NB/Harlem clubs...caught the first subway at 5:40 this morn' back & caught up on lack of sleep for past three weeks so just woke up at 5pm)...currently preppin' for lesson plans & such for the upcoming week...
Students are overall very intelligent/respsectful/funny...tryin' to inspire in them some spark of life & instill a habit of self-introspection/improvement....but then again often I forget how young some of them are & I recall what I was like back then when pimples were my biggest worries & holding hands w/ the opposite sex suggested admirable maturity...
Luv luv luv this city...the biggest difference is the sense of security (though, as Moody adamantly asserts, "constant vigilance!")...young girls can walk here late at night/early morning alone & expect to be left alone...even at the latest of nights/earliest of mornings the city is infused with life & lights...as for street harassment, it is nearly nonexistent (though admittedly, visual harassment is still prevalent)...next there is so much of everything within incredibly close proximity (you can find so many bars/clubs/NRB/cafes/movie complexes on nearly every street)...lastly, peeps here in general are so fashionable....I swear a magainze photographer can simply walk down a bustling street, snap snap! & bam, you have the styles section for this month's issue...
The one disappointment is the lack of K-pop at clubs...it's mostly Western hip hop/trance/etc. Sigh...my DBSK/K-pop madness fix is not being met...buuuut it is my goal to go on some kind of music show & scream away w/ all the other (significantly younger) fangirls...youth is a state of mind & fandom maintains it :P
The thing to do after clubbing is to hit the delish-ness of super fried (but not greasy) soaked-in-hot-sauce street food yuuum...everything in Korea (especially desserts) seem much lighter/less dense...I am almost ashamed to admit this (but why would we ever let that stop us?) buut I adooooore the McDonald's here :P....oh yes, very upscale/sophisticated...that is how I roll...
xoxoSeoulxoxo,
C2
Sunday, June 28, 2009
Monday, June 15, 2009
2 weeks in Seoul and I have found luv....
...it is called "Magic Straight"...(heheee, I'll bet that title caught your attention though!). Seriously, they work miracles here with hair, even with one as incorrigible as mine normally is--I bow down to them or specifically, to Lion Beauty Hair Salon. Things are mad hectic, I have been bankin' on few hours of sleep every night (busy buzzing + supposed jet lag = no snooze for C2)--afraid it'll likely catch up to me but hopin' desperately that the novelty/adrenaline of new "sugoi" city like Seoul will keep up its high...
Wheeee finally went to Naure-Bang-ing this weekend...a bit disappointed at the lack of music vids (so no hope to see luuvely DBSK boys dancing up on screen...sadness) buuut at least there were clips of dramas rather than random clips of sailboats/beaches...also went hoookah-ing...actually very luvely here I do say so myself...also went to club/bar called JJ's in Hyatt (beautifuuul, plus live band was the best part! Band called Magenta, in which the lead singer can perform an amazing whistle register--Mariah Carey style before her voice became all strained/hoarse)...also included lounge + outdoor patio (where the elite can try to up their cool factor by standing next to the pool and hoping the reflection of the blue water will bring out usually hidden sharp angles of their faces) + small dance floor (though when I saw peeps just kinda swaying back and forth, I asked my friend "why aren't they dancing?" to which he replied "oh..that's dancing")
Work is eatin' up time like a ravenous Gal Sone (super-slim Japanese singer/competitive eater--Youtube her if you're curious--seriously, it's like food porn) buuut really really enjoyin' it & much of that would likely be attributed to my brilliant/funny/open-minded friends/co-workers (I kinda have to say things like this b/c apparently at least one of them reads this blog...HEHEEE joooookkking...about the first part, not the latter)
Cafes here are ridiculously expensive but soooo worth it (at one right now where cranberry juice costs $6...at least they later brought me banana chips + watermelon...now I only feel partly ripped off)...headin' to my first soccer game in Seoul this Wed.! (Seoul vs. Iran---how exciting! Heart-pounding! Spirit-lifting! Actually, I just say that b/c I really know little about the sport much less either team so thought I'd just distract you with a vichyssoise of adjectives)
I apologize for any errors in this or for an absent of decent wit for I am quite exhausted right now...and breathing in the lovely second-hand smoke of my fellow compassionate Asian comrades has done wonders for me....
xoSeoulxo,
Gossip Girl...ooooops I mean C2 :P
Wheeee finally went to Naure-Bang-ing this weekend...a bit disappointed at the lack of music vids (so no hope to see luuvely DBSK boys dancing up on screen...sadness) buuut at least there were clips of dramas rather than random clips of sailboats/beaches...also went hoookah-ing...actually very luvely here I do say so myself...also went to club/bar called JJ's in Hyatt (beautifuuul, plus live band was the best part! Band called Magenta, in which the lead singer can perform an amazing whistle register--Mariah Carey style before her voice became all strained/hoarse)...also included lounge + outdoor patio (where the elite can try to up their cool factor by standing next to the pool and hoping the reflection of the blue water will bring out usually hidden sharp angles of their faces) + small dance floor (though when I saw peeps just kinda swaying back and forth, I asked my friend "why aren't they dancing?" to which he replied "oh..that's dancing")
Work is eatin' up time like a ravenous Gal Sone (super-slim Japanese singer/competitive eater--Youtube her if you're curious--seriously, it's like food porn) buuut really really enjoyin' it & much of that would likely be attributed to my brilliant/funny/open-minded friends/co-workers (I kinda have to say things like this b/c apparently at least one of them reads this blog...HEHEEE joooookkking...about the first part, not the latter)
Cafes here are ridiculously expensive but soooo worth it (at one right now where cranberry juice costs $6...at least they later brought me banana chips + watermelon...now I only feel partly ripped off)...headin' to my first soccer game in Seoul this Wed.! (Seoul vs. Iran---how exciting! Heart-pounding! Spirit-lifting! Actually, I just say that b/c I really know little about the sport much less either team so thought I'd just distract you with a vichyssoise of adjectives)
I apologize for any errors in this or for an absent of decent wit for I am quite exhausted right now...and breathing in the lovely second-hand smoke of my fellow compassionate Asian comrades has done wonders for me....
xoSeoulxo,
Gossip Girl...ooooops I mean C2 :P
Friday, June 5, 2009
The City never sleeps...except apparently when I wake up...
I am at work right now (oddly once again the first one...do people not like to get up early on Saturdays? wow, that's a strange one than from the States... =P) after having had a most walk-filled morning. Went to E-Mart (claimed to be equivalent of Wal-Mart here but when was the last time shaving cream cost round $7 at Wal-Mart??) this morning via Subway & arrived at 8am only to discover from the guard/white-collar workers smoking out front/Dunkin' Donuts clerk that it does not open until 11am... grrrrrr and after my having to ask so many peeps where it was ("E-Mart..E-Mart"...gosh I sounded like Wall-E....) what's a girl need to do to get a hair dryer around here? (Not looking for brand-quality either...literally just one that blows...that's what he said...hahaa sry...) Hair stores there weren't open till 10am so found myself heading back to Subway only to get semi-lost at various stops...nice that people are not only willing to tell you the way (though in Korean so it's not like I understand much anyways) but actually walk with you to towards the place you need to go (one pair of guys said they were just returning home from drinking...somehow my waking sched seems reversed here...but no worries I am determined to adjust =P)...returned to Kangnam where I searched for hair salon (for magic straight!) only to find of course that none were open at this hour...hence now at work (where I am planning my courses...the pressure sure seems on now..we were told yesterday that the son of CEO of Megabox movie chain attends here as does the daughter of a Samsung chief executive... thus pretty sums up to --> C2 really needs to know her shhhh...)
Last night went to Dongdaemun shopping district...GOOOOORGEOUS. Lights EVERYWHERE in all different colors, towers & buildings stretching up but not so high that you feel dwarfed--just high enough so that it feels glamorous & protecting. Highlight of the night were watching young teens performing various dance routines to latest kpop hits...one groups of girls danced to SonDambi & others Pussycat style (while admittedly they were very good indeed, the GWS part of me immediately wanted to shout "you are too young for such displays of hypersexuality!"...actually I did shout it but give the music peeps probably just thought I was singing along really off tune)...another group of guys + 1 girl w/ impressive chereography danced to "Sorry Sorry" by Super Junior & "Again and Again" by 2PM...another group of break-dancer guys (yes, asian break-dancers they do indeed exist..good ones too)...but for me the highlight was one girl who got up dressed in very casual fashion & sang to "Ducks Fly" (don't know whose song this is, only that DBSK's Max Changmin sang this at various concerts) in a very comical way (give every high note, whereas some use their hand gestures to somehow psychologically help them reach them, she did tae-kwon-do moves)--in all, this was VERY different from what most people in her position would do on stage outside in front of a large crowd & I was most impressed by her boldness/spunk--w/ that kind of spirit, maybe we'll see her in Berkeley one day... =). Spent the rest of the night shopping round...tried on one very soft silk dress/large shirt like thing..gorgeous colors but it was so soft & airy felt like you weren't wearing anything...Emperor's New Clothes kinda thing...
That is all for now. Must prep for practice presentation we must give in an hour.
XoSeoulXo,
C2
Last night went to Dongdaemun shopping district...GOOOOORGEOUS. Lights EVERYWHERE in all different colors, towers & buildings stretching up but not so high that you feel dwarfed--just high enough so that it feels glamorous & protecting. Highlight of the night were watching young teens performing various dance routines to latest kpop hits...one groups of girls danced to SonDambi & others Pussycat style (while admittedly they were very good indeed, the GWS part of me immediately wanted to shout "you are too young for such displays of hypersexuality!"...actually I did shout it but give the music peeps probably just thought I was singing along really off tune)...another group of guys + 1 girl w/ impressive chereography danced to "Sorry Sorry" by Super Junior & "Again and Again" by 2PM...another group of break-dancer guys (yes, asian break-dancers they do indeed exist..good ones too)...but for me the highlight was one girl who got up dressed in very casual fashion & sang to "Ducks Fly" (don't know whose song this is, only that DBSK's Max Changmin sang this at various concerts) in a very comical way (give every high note, whereas some use their hand gestures to somehow psychologically help them reach them, she did tae-kwon-do moves)--in all, this was VERY different from what most people in her position would do on stage outside in front of a large crowd & I was most impressed by her boldness/spunk--w/ that kind of spirit, maybe we'll see her in Berkeley one day... =). Spent the rest of the night shopping round...tried on one very soft silk dress/large shirt like thing..gorgeous colors but it was so soft & airy felt like you weren't wearing anything...Emperor's New Clothes kinda thing...
That is all for now. Must prep for practice presentation we must give in an hour.
XoSeoulXo,
C2
Thursday, June 4, 2009
Greetings from Seoul!
Luuuuuvs,
Sry for being a bit MIA (though it's only been lil over 2 days, it feels like I have been here forever...in a good way though!). First, props to kpop-land--it is AMAAAZING. Gorgeous/clean/friendly people (or maybe they are just nice b/c my attempts at Korean entertain them for the hour). Subway system is super clean & efficient once you--aka me & fellow instructor friend who attempt phrase-book-friendly-Korean--get the hang of it; however, trying to mime "I would like a T-ticket" to the ticket master was very fun indeed. Subway is also very sturdy in general & makes "bart-surfing" completely unnecessary.
People at work are luuuuuvely--friendly/intelligent/very fun to be around :). Wheeee, thank gosh, esp. as I was looking on Haek-won blacklists frantically for mention of this company. The students here are apparently from very wealthy families, so quite a bit of pressure on us teachers to make sure they get their money's worth. I must say I sympathize w/ them given that they are in around 8-10 hours of instruction 6 days a week during summer--I feel it is my duty to make the classroom as close to fun as possible for my the well-being of my fellow humanity.
Noticeable culture differences: everything seems smaller here from the drinks (everything with caffeine seems highly overpriced but the cafes here are sooo spacious and breathtaking! There is one in which the entire 2-story cafe is open-aired) to the trash cans. Also, I apparently I have to go buy special trash bags in which I can store my junk & then lug it out to drop on the street where someone comes to pick it up round 4am daily. Women here are very fashionable when it comes to shoes--at Cal sometimes peeps call me out for wearing heels but here everyone seems to do so (I wonder how that is for the height-shy males, since this would add an additional couple of inches to their female counterparts....).
Woke up & was outta the apartment by 8 this morn' only to find that apparently no place opens till round 9..so spent the morning explooooring. Given constant constant walking (is it any wonder why everyone seems so fit here?!) & small portions & lack of time for full meals in general = best shape of my life in just a couple of days...I like to call this the Seoul Diet.
That is all but one last lil thing just for my kpop enthusiast-buds: I live very very close to an "SM Training Academy"...needless to say I will definitely be on the look-out! :P
Sry for being a bit MIA (though it's only been lil over 2 days, it feels like I have been here forever...in a good way though!). First, props to kpop-land--it is AMAAAZING. Gorgeous/clean/friendly people (or maybe they are just nice b/c my attempts at Korean entertain them for the hour). Subway system is super clean & efficient once you--aka me & fellow instructor friend who attempt phrase-book-friendly-Korean--get the hang of it; however, trying to mime "I would like a T-ticket" to the ticket master was very fun indeed. Subway is also very sturdy in general & makes "bart-surfing" completely unnecessary.
People at work are luuuuuvely--friendly/intelligent/very fun to be around :). Wheeee, thank gosh, esp. as I was looking on Haek-won blacklists frantically for mention of this company. The students here are apparently from very wealthy families, so quite a bit of pressure on us teachers to make sure they get their money's worth. I must say I sympathize w/ them given that they are in around 8-10 hours of instruction 6 days a week during summer--I feel it is my duty to make the classroom as close to fun as possible for my the well-being of my fellow humanity.
Noticeable culture differences: everything seems smaller here from the drinks (everything with caffeine seems highly overpriced but the cafes here are sooo spacious and breathtaking! There is one in which the entire 2-story cafe is open-aired) to the trash cans. Also, I apparently I have to go buy special trash bags in which I can store my junk & then lug it out to drop on the street where someone comes to pick it up round 4am daily. Women here are very fashionable when it comes to shoes--at Cal sometimes peeps call me out for wearing heels but here everyone seems to do so (I wonder how that is for the height-shy males, since this would add an additional couple of inches to their female counterparts....).
Woke up & was outta the apartment by 8 this morn' only to find that apparently no place opens till round 9..so spent the morning explooooring. Given constant constant walking (is it any wonder why everyone seems so fit here?!) & small portions & lack of time for full meals in general = best shape of my life in just a couple of days...I like to call this the Seoul Diet.
That is all but one last lil thing just for my kpop enthusiast-buds: I live very very close to an "SM Training Academy"...needless to say I will definitely be on the look-out! :P
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