Gimbap

At least I think that's what it's called.  Rice wrapped in seaweed, and fish and radish.  Korean fast food.

Korean Comics Museum

One of my favorite places we've visited in Korea and I very much wish we'd had more time. 

 This "page" was taller than I, and I'm 5'7.

This is the interior of the elevator! 

The sign for women's restroom.  In  a speech bubble!  How cool is that?!

I loved this.  There was a giant cartoonist, sleeping---probably having fallen asleep while drawing---and you can walk through his head and see the various images he sees.  I realized that later, when I couldn't have a good look.  :)

Cold Fries for Breakfast

Frantically typing at public computer in hotel lobby.  Breakfast was a buffet: soup, fries, chicken wings, salad, breaded and fried shrimp, hard boiled eggs . . . all cold.  Heehee!

Sorry, no photos for a few days, methinks.

Moving . . .

. . . to another city tomorrow.  Hopefully, I'll be able to post photos.  Thanks for reading and for leaving comments!

Smiles,

-Z

Ho - Ho - Hahaha!

We were at a regional Rotary conference yesterday.  For the most part, we had no idea what was being said.  Then a nun with a big smile got onstage, and I think she was talking about the power of smiling and laughter and how it improves your health.

Next thing I know, about 1,500 Rotarians are chanting and clapping:

Ho!
Ho!
Ha! Ha! Ha!

Ho!

Ho!
Ha! Ha! Ha!


It's surreal enough being on the other side of the planet and not understanding what's going on around you, but the nun, with what looks like a large rosary hanging from her waist and her black stockings . . .  that adds a layer of surreal!  She sounded like fun, though.  I liked her and wish I could understand.  Unfortunately, my vocabulary in Korean is limited to a handfull---literally---of words.

Sometime later, the team was onstage.  I was singing Abba's "Dancing Queen" with a Rotarian, and then Arirang by myself with no accompaniment.  It's the unofficial Korean national anthem (according to Wikipedia).  One of the Korean team members---they are visiting California for a month just as we have been visiting Korea---filmed it with my camcorder, so we have evidence. 

Ho!
Ho!
Ha! Ha! Ha!

Find My Brother

So . . . we're sitting around the dinner table with a number of Rotarians.  Traditional Korean meals are served on low tables; you sit cross-legged and hope your legs don't fall asleep before your tummy is full.  I'm always afraid I won't be able to stand up and walk because I have a leg that, uhm, you don't need those details.

Anyroad, next thing I know, one of the Rotarians, the guy who'd driven us around town that day, starts telling his story.  I don't remember there being a father in the picture, but his mother was in such a difficult financial situation that she gave the Rotarian's brother up for adoption.  He had two other brothers, and they both died in childhood. 

He desperately wants to find his brother.  He looks like he's in his early fifties to me, but I'm not good and estimating people's ages.  He figures his brother has since been given another name.  Since he and his brother looked alike, he thinks he'll be able to recognize his brother only if he sees him.  Or if the brother sees him first.

By now, the interpreter is crying, and so is my team-mate.  The team photographer offers to take photos of him and there's brief mention of creating a Facebook page.

I offer to shoot an interview, and I do it, although the set-up is not ideal.  I'm already thinking ahead: transcription and verification, translation and editing, subtitles.  Beyond my budget and not a language pair I work with.  Volunteers, hopefully.  And how do we spread the word?  Facebook page, definitely.  Church groups, social groups?  Need more info from the gentleman.

So, I've been singing the one Korean song I know, over and over at dinners and club meetings.  Someone suggests I sing it.  We hold hands and I sing.  The Rotarians sing, too. 

Then I burst into tears. 

@#&*!

Then we all head off for some serious karaoke . . .  My current speciality: Abba's "Dancing Queen."

When I'm home and able to download my video footage, I'll create a YouTube account and post the video at least. 

Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

Me, Tarzan; Make Copy

At first, one of our team members spoke at a normal speed, using vocabulary and our usual language.

Then, the team member tried, slower, and louder.

Then: subject, verb, object.  "We like soup."

Now it's Tarzan-speak.  "Me, two sisters."  "We California."

Also, Koreans want words to end on a vowel and there's no "f" sound, so

"coffee" becomes "copy"  I was wondering why people were always asking if we needed copies of something . . .
"golf"  becomes "golp-u"
"fork" becomes "pork-u"  -  I'm the only one who needs one; the other team members are quite handy with chopsticks.
"each" becomes "each-ee"

"Sh" and "s" sound interchangeable to me, so
"sit here" sometimes sounds like "sh** here"
"city hall" sometimes sounds like "sh**y hall"

I don't know if the Tarzan-speak helps them understand us, but knowing about the other stuff helps us understand them.

Hanna

We went to the movies today, our day off, and it was quite the adventure.  First, figure out whether the movies would be dubbed (people's mouths move and you expect English, but you hear Korean) or subtitled (words across the bottom of the screen). 

There was one that would be in English, but it took a while.  We asked one poor lady who spoke no English.  Then we got a number and waited for our turn, and figured out that the only movie we could watch was "Hanna," that it would begin in an hour, and that we'd have to go upstairs for the theatre.  $10 for a ticket.  I even managed to ask whether guys would like it.

We had assigned seats.  And we sat in the wrong ones.

The seats were "vibration seats," so you could feel explosions and helicopters and the bass in fast music through the seats.  Cheap thrill. Yeah, baby!

Everything on the Web is in Korean, so I can't figure out how to embed the video I want to show you; you'll have to click away from my blog to watch it.  It's the trailer for "Hanna."

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ugireeCoYyU

Everything you wanted to know about GSE . . .

. . . but were afraid to ask.

I'm unable to post photos right now, but let me give you the quick version of what GSE is.

GSE stands for Group Study Exchange.  It's a cultural exchange with a vocational aspect.  You travel for about a month as a team consisting of non-Rotarian team members and a Rotarian team leader.  What's a Rotarian?  A Rotary Club member.  You can find more info at Rotary's website (click here) or on Wikipedia (click here).

The team is from a particular Rotary District---ours is 5230 from Californi---and the exchange is with a district in another country---in this case it's 3690 in Korea.  The idea is that a team stays with host families and visits cultural and historic places with the goal of gaining a greater understanding of the country and its people.  Then there are reporting responsibilities, but the idea is to share what you've learned with your circle of influence so that everyone benefits.

Why would Rotary do such a thing?  It's one of their goals: global understanding.  Another goal is improving health around the world---they are working towards eradicating polio from the planet.  So very impressive.

Our team includes a reporter, a photographer, and yours truly (video), so our travels will be very well documented.

My team consists of people born in Mexico or of Mexican descent, so today we were on the Korean bullet train, listening to Spanish-language music.  I've also learned some Mexican slang.  :)

Fabulous people.

The Rotarians we meet continue to spend their precious time (many are businessmen who work long hours) to guide us, interpret (translation is the written word, my friends!) for us, and tell us about their lives and thoughts.  They are unfailingly generous and kind.

Later!

Don't Push

So . . . the answer to my previous post in which I asked what the sign meant . . .

http://zeesuniverse.blogspot.com/2011/04/what-does-this-sign-mean.html

Our first guess: Don't Push.  But it's actually: Do Not Enter.  Heehee!

It's Alive!

SQUID
Wait until I get home and am able to edit my videos.  I have footage of what we had for dinner last night.  It was squid.  Or octopus.  It was still moving, my friends.  The server cut the tentacles from the rest of the body.  Our hosts scooped up the tentacles (as they tried to climb up the chopsticks), dipped them in sauce and ate them. 

We all tried the octopus.  Very chewy.  At that moment I wish I drank.  I bet some soju would've made the tentacles go down smoother.  Yowza!  I didn't swallow anything without chewing pretty thoroughly, but in my mind's eye,  they're still moving in my stomach.

Then there were the eggs.  I guess it was a girl squid/octopus.  Those weren't so bad; not much flavor, and the texture of rice . . .

FISH
Perhaps you've had sushi.  I'd never had it.  "Sushi" means "garbage" and/or "dirty" in Papiamento, and just the idea of raw fish wasn't very appealing.  Well, we saw the lady take the fish out of containers full of their brethren.  She then chopped into the fish, near the head.  I saw blood, but the fish continued to flop for quite some time and was still flopping when we walked away.  I filmed a lot of flopping.

So when the platter of carefully-arranged raw fish arrived, my stomach lurched.  The beer started looking appealing.  Or maybe a "bomb," which is a full glass of beer with a shot of soju poured into it.  I tried a few pieces, but no more after that. 

Went to McDonald's this evening.

Prayers for Unification

You'd think that South Koreans would want nothing to do with North Korea given that North Korea has bombed South Korea.  However, everyone we've talked to has expressed the hope for reunification.  "They are our brothers and sisters; we have to help them."   Even if they don't have any North Korean relatives.

Here are some prayers at a peace observatory.

Need For Speed

We saw a presentation at Korail, the Korean train system, I believe it was yesterday . . . I have no sense of what day it is or where I am in Korea, an odd feeling.  Anyroaod, they have a bullet train here, and the station we visited was based on Korean design. 

Some photos for your viewing pleasure:

Korean Architecture

My source describes the difference between Chinese, Japanese, and Korean architecture like this:

Chinese - super ornate
Japanese - no ornamentation
Korean - somewhere in between

Visited a huge palace today.  Wow!

Here's a detal from the roof tops.  There were several little figures up there. Intended to be protective, I imagine.

Haechi!

Becoming obsessed with Haechi.  The little cartoon character is so cute!  And I love the statues I've seen today. 

According to the Korea Times:  "Haechi is a mythical animal symbolizing justice and integrity. Originally, it was a lion-like creature with a horn on its forehead that guarded the royal palaces. Seoul designated Haechi as its symbol in 2008 and promoted it in various ways."

Some examples:

Group Photos

We pose for photos a lot.  A lot.  It's fun to see the pictures after a few days, though, and remember good times with the various Rotary clubs.  Each one has its own character.

Swastika

The swastika has been used for thousands of years as a symbol of good luck and well-being.  Here in Korea it's used to indicate Buddhist temples and we've seen it on flags and signs quite a bit.  But it still makes me stop and keep myself from cringing, because my first association is still with Nazi Germany.

What does this sign mean?

Check out the first sign (on the left).  What do you think it means?

Women: No Smoking

According to my source, it's socially not acceptable for women to smoke in public, although it's okay for men to be seen smoking.  So there are women who smoke in the restroom.  That explains the many no-smoking signs in the women's restrooms.  I haven't been in men's restrooms, so I wonder if there are no-smoking signs there . . .

This one apparently tells you that smoking is bad for your teeth.

Our team was chosen to wear traditional garb and participate (Juan got to hit that large drum you see in the photo) during the formal reenactment of the changing of the guard.