New news and dance moves

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It’s a rainy Saturday in Seoul and I’m sitting a newly discovered Starbucks with my laptop. Colin is out shopping with some boys from church (don’t worry, they’re going drinking afterwards) and I think this may be our first Saturday apart since August. I’m perched up at a window seat overlooking a busy little side street and with the rain coming down out there I actually feel pretty cozy in here sipping my latte. I’m also snacking on some gimbap (maki-like roll) since it is somehow almost 4pm. I had a good chat with mom today and also chatted with my friendJaclyn for the first time in over 6 months. Boy, did I laugh!! Talking with a girl again was great! Talking with the storyteller/drama queen that is Jaclyn and hearing her self-deprecating and over-the-top home renovation stories made my day. I don’t think I laughed that hard since Christine was here and Colin was ranting about Christine “the travellor”. (Only his family will understand what I’m talking about, but I may just have to add that email to the end of this blog for everyone to understand—it’s worth it.)

I’m realizing now that the things I initially missed when leaving home are not the same things that I miss most now. At first I was taken aback by some of the food and housing “adjustments” and the impact of such a huge city and so many people with whom I can’t communicate; yet now we’re pretty used to it. Even when we think we’ve mastered ordering a certain dish at a familiar place, we still sometimes end up with something different; but it’s usually okay (unless I have suffered from low food levels for more than a couple hours…then I may not be such a trooper). :-)

Now I’m realizing that yes, I miss my dryer and whole wheat bread, but I miss coffee dates with my cousins, girlfriends, and mom more. I miss showing up a grandma and grandpa’s for dinner or an impromptu lunch. I miss fresh air and parks…and okay, I miss being able to find shoes my size! (I tricked myself into thinking that the largest size I’ve seen here—a 250—was actually my size, but now after a few purchases and six or seven blister episodes later, I realize that they were all a half size too small.) Anyway, I’m not complaining, I’m actually quite grateful for these experiences that remind me of the things that really matter. It will be just as interesting to realize the things about Seoul that I’ll miss when I’m back in Edmonton.

Moving on…I’ve got some news!!! Most of you know that my mom and brother are coming to Seoul in May for a visit before the three of us head off to Thailand for a couple weeks. (Yes, Colin was invited, but he’s going to earn money while I spend mine, by working until the end of May.) Well, I have been offered another little surprise by one of my friends, Christine, who has been living in Qatar for the past two months working for a company involved with the Asian Games. Her company grants her quite the travel budget as an incentive for living there and due to certain circumstances, timing, and her generosity she’s invited me on a “free” holiday to Qatar, Turkey, and Egypt!!! It only meant that I had to quit teaching two weeks earlier than planned, so I couldn’t really say no. A friend…more traveling...few costs…I’m pretty excited. So, I officially have two weeks of teaching left. I leave for Qatar on April 16th and return to Seoul May 1st—two days before mom and Daryl arrive.

So, now that I’ve blabbed a bit too long for a blog with no good pics I do have to report on one Korean experience that Colin and I had a couple weeks ago. Colin took me to this B-boys/hip hop/street dancing show that we had heard a lot of good things about, as a birthday present a couple days after my birthday. Well it was absolutely amazing! These guys had moves I’ve never seen; they were so strong and flexible…it totally blew us away. Anyway, the show was being videotaped by a few guys who looked liked professionals, but his one guy had the camera on us most of the time. It was pretty strange, but we managed to ignore it most of the time—I figured they were doing some promo video and wanted to capture foreigners on camera enjoying the show. At the end of the show all the dancers came out for solo encores and then this one announcer was going on about something that we couldn’t understand, but we kind of started to pack up because the show was over. Well all of a sudden the guy points to Colin and says “couple?” while nodding to me and then made the motions for us to go up on stage. We did the nervous laughter thing for a couple seconds and only when we realized that he was serious did we slowly walk to the stage with huge WTF looks on our faces. The guy goes on saying something to the crowd, everyone is laughing and we don’t understand a word. Then they pick two other couples from the crowd to join us on stage, and this lady who volunteered to be a translator for us.

At this point Colin and I have panicked smiles standing there not understanding a word of what this charismatic (or perhaps just very loud) announcer is saying when finally he points to us and the crowd starts cheering. Our translator informs us that we must do a dance to “show our love”. What? “You…know…a dance…to show…how much you love…” So now the crowd is cheering, I’m getting upper lip sweat, and we still don’t really understand what is going on yet we somehow know that we are now involved in some sort of dance-off. As if we are going to really try to bust a move in front of all these people and all the wicked dancers who are sitting on stage with us!

We ended up putting together some sort of lame spinning combo that ended with a dip that the crowd seemed to enjoy, but still…not cool. The next couple up was Korean, and it was then that I realized it was a good thing that we went first. They both start out all coy and then out of nowhere the girl starts doing dirty dancing stripper moves and the guy is on the ground pulling out some pretty sweet break dancing moves. Jeez!! It’s a good thing we didn’t follow them. After the showdown they had a cake with candles (no kidding) and a bouquet of flowers for each couple. They told Colin he had to go down on one knee to hand the flowers to me, right before he asked if we were going to get married. Of course Colin did the “I’m breaking out in a sweat hand motion across the forehead”. Anyway, it was a pretty weird experience. We didn’t take our camera that night either!

Okay, I’m off. Happy Spring to all.

Kristy

P.S.
Here’s Colin’s email that I promised to include where he makes a case study out of his sister:

“…, of course I make fun of "the travellor".
You can spot this breed of foreigner in the subways and museums anywhere in the world. She is very aware that she looks different, so she seems to take pride in her differences and go out of her way to stand out. Case 1: first time on the subway..and our friend Christine (aka: the travellor--pronounced like Skeletor) is unpacking and repacking one of the 3 packs she carries. One for her front, one as a purse, and of course one for the back. Oh, I almost forgot, she is still wearing her money belt with her passport as I believe it may have been surgically fastened around her waist. So there she is, wearing the brightest colors on the train, water resistant hiking shoes, quick dry wind break pants, and a whistle fastened to her pack. "I must fold everything better" . Apparently "rolling" is the method preferred by these "travellors". Heavy clothing at the bottom, lighter things at the top. Topical ointments, allergy medication and first aid kits are within the outer most pockets of the packs and tissues for the bathooms...just in case.
Her Nalgene bottle is filled to the brim for her outing to the market....and hanging securely from the outside of her bag of course....and she has a different map for each of the 12 pockets scattered throughout her clothing.
She has arrived in our city with all of her numbers 1-10 memorized in Korean, and she is not afraid to use them to anyone she meets. But surprisingly, they are not understood by the natives of this city, nor does she understand them...at which point hysterical laughing seems to quell what could be a nerve racking situation.
Christine, you should know that I'm not making fun...as much as I'm proud of "the travellor". Where I might be embarrassed taking notes every 30 minutes( "We entered exit 3 of Subway line 4" ) you have shown excellent efforts in documenting your trip. ("Man at guest house is very friendly")

Anyhoo, we are sad to see her leave, but we will always think of her when we see other "travellor's" road ready for action.”

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Photos

Blonde bedhead
I don't think many people saw Colin as a blonde. This is what we do in Korea when we have time on our hands: I play hairdresser with a $2 pack of hair bleach. He's already back to his natural colour, but I thought I should post this since he's not home now to stop me.

Fresh vegetables, anyone?
This is a pic that Christine took when she was here. These women sit on the streets selling their products in all types of weather. Notice the one in the distance putting her hand up. Oopps.

Comments

[Shelley]

Bon voyage...again!
Awesome news...I'm so excited for you, Kristy! Have a wonderful trip!

[The Middle Eastern Christine]

Are you ready?
So, KP, you've been doing it Asian style for six months and now you're going to have to switch gears and get in the Middle East mindset. Are you ready? You might want to check out the list I posted on my blog--it will give you a great crash course--Kleenex instead of napkins; camels and goats aplenty; drivers crazier than my 16-year old self; and sand in every crevice of your body--fun, fun!

[Jac]

Hehe
I enjoyed our convo too....felt like no time had passed, I was trying to keep it real, since when you're away you feel like everything and everyone is peachy keen at home.....