Lost in Translation

Before I start on my very, very eventful weekend, let me note that I, in fact we ALL, are very misinformed. For some reason, America must attract that cast-off Koreans, the Koreans that Korea doesn’t think is very pretty. Cause these Korean boys are CUTE. Well, pretty would be a better description. No, seriously before I came over here I thought, “Well, there wont be any eye-candy, but at least I’ll have money…” Wrong. About the eye-candy part, anyways. Cause every time I go out, I see plenty of delicious Koreans for every eye. Hehehe. You have the preppy ones, the hipster ones, the corporate ones, the hip-hop ones, the laid-back ones…and they all dress well too. While I don’t think I would date a Korean guy, rest assured that I am not lacking for nice things to look at while I‘m abroad. ;-)
Hmmm, so my weekend was pretty eventful indeed, chicas. Saturday, I showed up at school in the early am for the class-showing get together thing. Mrs. Lee basically shooed me away anytime I attempted to help (she could probably smell my un-enthusiasm OR my distinct lack of decorating flair), so I was relegated to the office where I surfed CNN and face book all day. You know, I was reading in my contract where it says I’m definitely NOT supposed to work on Saturdays…which I will be showing Mrs. Lee tomorrow, cause unless I’m getting paid for being there, then I will gladly stay at home sleeping in. =P So, I left the school early to meet my new friend A at Suwon Station, so we could go into Seoul and do some shopping. I came unprepared for the bitter cold and she…just wanted some new winter clothes I guess.
(Background info: A is probably late 20’s--I don’t know for sure-- and a 6-foot tall white girl with a penchant for wild makeup and clothes. Example: When I met her at the Station, she was wearing glittery-gold and black Adidas Classics and brightly pigmented fuchsia Mac eyeliner. She’s from Canadialand, but has been living in the east for about 4 years. She spent two years in Taiwan and has been in Korea for almost two years. She said she liked Taiwan way better then Korea-- its cheaper, the weather’s nicer, the people are nice and the women aren’t stooped-- but she now has a way cute Korean boyfriend who plays semi-pro golf so she will probably stay in Korea forever. Whew.)
A is super funny and says whatever the hell she wants wherever she wants to say it. She has a dislike for Korean women, because she says that act stupidly just because they’re expected to. She says “retard” in all seriousness and yet makes it charming. And for once, its nice to be a part of the conversation that no one ELSE understands. Ha! We’re on the subway train to Seoul and everyone is staring cause theres this tall white girl and a short black one speaking rapid-fire English and, damn, its nice not to be stared at alone. Hehehehe. She was very…free with her opinions, probably because no one else could understand that she was talking major triz-ash about Korea’s educational system, old ladies, women and alcoholic men. Whoopsie….
We get to Seoul, popping my Seoul cherry BTW, and its ammmmaaazing. I realize its kinda a blessing I’m not in Seoul, cause if I were I would be broke. Ha! There are sooo many stores, with things dirt ass cheap.
Side Note: For all you Econ majors, the exchange rate in $1.00= 1,700.00 KRW. Yes, Korea is probably the ONLY place in the world where the dollar is expensive.
So, I went wild. I had withdrew about 200,000 KRW from my bank account (around 175.00 American), and I had a surplus of money. I bought probably 8 sweaters, 5 camis, a pair of jeans and leather gloves for about 70 bucks…
After we finish our shopping extravaganza, we go to meet A’s boyfriend at this electronics district in Seoul. We go there for the express purpose of boot-leg DVDs, which a year ago used to be a thriving, open business until the Korean government put the smack down on it. So now, you have to know exactly where to go to get bootlegged DVDs. Now, when they we were first talking about bootlegs, I’m thinking “Oh, lord, please don’t take me to a jack-legged bootlegger….there are enough in Detroit. Not interested.” We go to this guy, A’s favorite boot-legger, and this guy has EVERYTHING. No seriously, all the seasons of Friends, House, and even Martin! Basically every other major network American show plus movies that have just recently made it to theaters to old-school classics. I have to admit that I’m impressed. Impressed, but still wary cause these could be low-quality movies, like the ones back home where you hear people laughing and see heads moving in front of the screen…but I succumb and buy season 1 through 6 of Sex and the City, Eagle Eye, and the House Bunny for 38,000 KRW (about 28 bucks). This was a freaking STEAL, but I was still nervous about the quality. So I get home and pop in DVD 1 of Season 1, SATC, and its perfect. No, seriously, its like watching the $250 set from Target. I even have menu options, language settings and scene selection. I pop in the movies and they are also perfect, like I purchased them from Blockbuster. WTF? So, I officially love Korea right now. Is that positive enough for you, Ren?
Wait, so let me backtrack, cause a big hunk of my Seoul experience is missing. We leave the electronic district (which has cheapie cheap everything electronic there-- I will be going back soon) and A tells me that we have to split up cause her and her boyfriend are going a different way then me. I experience mild panic, cause in the ride there, we had to transfer a few times and I cant read or speak real Korean. I’m like, “Shit, are you serious?” She tells me the train I have to get on and says it’s a straight shot, no transfer necessary and it will only take about 50 minutes. I’m nervous, but I’m a big girl so I say its fine I can do it. Of course, I end up getting lost on the Korean subway. I ride until the absolute end of the track and a Korean cleaning lady comes in and I say, “I’m lost! Suwon Station!! Suwon!” LOL. She speaks like rapid Korean and I say that I don’t speak Korean, only English. She is trying to explain to me, showing me the subway map and the conductor comes into the subway car. He speaks elementary English and explains that I need to stay on this train as it heads back to Seoul and tells me where I need to get off to transfer to the Suwon train. I sit and ride and when I get to the transfer point, he gets out of the little conductors’ box-thing and escorts me to the Suwon train and tells me how many stops it takes to get to Suwon and says “Be careful, okay?” I was like, “THANK YOU SOOOOOO MUCH.” Ha! Another thing to appreciate is that there are kind people everywhere. I mean, yeah, some of the Korean women can be nerve-wracking and look mean as hell and the men like to drink a little too much, but there are nice people here regardless.
I ride the train to Suwon Station and thankfully get on my bus home and am…happy. For the first time since I’ve been here, I feel braver and bigger almost like I can do anything. I just got lost on the Korean subway and made it back home. John Mayer had it right-- I’m bigger than my body gives me credit for.