Soccer and Seoul: ECUADOR VS. KOREA

This weekend I went to Seoul with some friends. We booked rooms in the Seoul Motel, a classy establishment in the foreign-frequented Itaewon district. In Itaewon you can find a wide selection of international restaurants and stores, clothing in sizes larger than a 2 (advertised as "big size") and you can hear English - a lot.

When I walk around in Korea I can tune out people's conversations. The small amount that I understand is not sufficient to eavesdrop. A foriegner here can breeze down a street while chalking up all Korean speech to white noise. But not in Itaweon. A group of women in front of us were dicussing why their group of friends did the right thing by not rushing into marriage like Sue. A couple behind us was talking about a restuarant. A Nigerian woman was asking Delaine who braids her hair, and offering a card for her salon. This actually felt a little overwhelming after being so used to simply ignoring the conversations happening around me.

We went to eat some Greek food, then headed to a bar on the aptly named "Hooker Hill". As we walked up the hill, we saw scantily clad women sitting on stools, the doors of various venues left open just enough to give people a peek of what they could pay for. At the top of the hill, we arrived at our destination, a country western bar that was full of real American cowboys. After a couple vodka-cranberries, I decided to ask one of the cowboys to two-step. He had a good sense of rythym, and soon enough I was two-stepping around the center of the room as my friend filmed my first western dance experience. Surprisingly, the same cowboy had followed my guy friend into the bathoom and asked him, "What's the deal with your lady friends?" and commented that I was a "mighty fine lady."

The next stop was Caliente, a Latino-frequented latin club (as opposed to a Korean salsero venue). We danced until they kicked us out and the lights went on. Then we went to Hongdae and hit up a place called Gorilla before crashing into bed in Itaewon.

On Sunday we went to Myungdong for some shopping. A youth-culture haven, this shopping district has a ton of international stores ilke Zara and Forever 21, Korean beauty product stores with hawkers out front who drag you in by the arm and give you a basket with free samples in exchange for browsing, as well as the typical Korean street vendors selling everything from belts to shoes to faux acid washed denim leggings to couple cell phone charms and earrings.

But the real reason for going up to Seoul this weekend was to see the World Cup warm up friendly between Ecuador and Korea. I was horrified to discover that I had forgotten to pack my Ecuadorian flag, but luckily I remembered my 2006 jersey and collection of red blue and yellow accessories. As huge crowds of people spilled out of the subway at the Seoul World Cup Stadium, I saw a Korean guy wearing the same jersey as me. Ecuador! I yelled to him... and then he bowed at me. We were wondering if he just randomly likes Ecuador. There are lots of Ecuadorian Koreans, but I still wouldn't have expected someone from Ecuador to bow so automatically - however I bow all the time in Korean contexts so I shouldn't judge! But everyone else we saw was wearing red and white, the Korean colours.

Korean fans are crazy! Their energy was infectuous. The crowd had a band with drums that led cheers. They shot flares in the air, they raised a flag up AND down over themselves. And their cries of "dae han min guk" (Korea's official name) almost never let up for the entire game. When we arrived at our awesome front and center seats, there were large pieces of red or white cardstock, and a Park Ji Sung mask to wear on the back of your head.

But for the size of our small group, we did a pretty good job of cheering. We attracted the attention of a small group that started yelling Ecuador back at us. And that was how I met two Ecuadorian guys from Toronto who are teaching English in Seoul. There were also a few pockets of Ecuadorian fans on the other side of the stadium, visible with their yellow jerseys and balloons, and one lone flag.

The Mind

I was having dinner with my friend Sunny on Monday when she brought up the concept of the mind. "Ask any Korean person where the mind is, and they will point here," she said, placing her hand on her heart. "If you ask any western person, they always point to their head." I decided to test this theory last night over dinner at an Italian place with Alexander (Chan Hui). When I asked him where the mind is, he gestured to his chest.

Sunny is a cultural interpreter. She is Korean, but also lived in California, and has many friends in the international community here in Daegu. She knows Korean and North American culture intimately and is fully bilingual. These cultural interpreters can provide incredible insights into a culture. Sometimes you need to ask someone to explain something to you. Why does my friend think I want to meet up with him when I say, "I am bored"? How much money should I bring as a wedding gift? Why are some people so shy and embarassed to talk to foreigners? Is it just me, or are Korean gender roles strikingly similar to Latin American ones? Through friends like her, I have learned a lot about Korea, and become much more in tune with and sensitive to cultural differences. Having friends like Sunny has allowed me to function more smoothly in Korean society.

the onset of summer

HOT.

The steamy Daegu weather has arrived. Unlike in Canada, where weather changes slowly creep up on you, Korea basically has summer and winter, where spring and fall are like a joke. At best, a few days of glorious weather around 20 degrees. This is also the time when middle aged folk bust out the best of their hiking gear: black polyester pants, and bright coloured sweat-wicking long-sleeved shirts, and .... hiking polls.... to hike up pathed pathways that are more like sidewalks than challenging mountainous terrain.

For me, this means bursting open my wardrobe to expose brightly coloured skirts and dresses, lightweight fabrics, and my impressive shoe collection... and extra walking and biking. Asha has a habit of setting up her throne in one of two places to catch some vitamin D during our rigidly enforced "Fresh Air Time" aka break, which lasts from 11:31-11:44 and 4:31-4:44 daily. We see a lot of interesting things from a perch in the sun. One side is the sidewalk, and the other is a shoddy little parking area. Shoddy, because the "chain" that closes off the four-car parking area is neon green, and plastic. Yesterday, a driver pulled up to the chain, got out of the car, and de-linked two segments of the chain. He drove into the lot, parked his car, then re-linked the chain back up.

We have also seen:
-Crazy old men on bikes with cool straw hats, who yell at us and want to practice their English
-Children who run by brushing their hands along a ledge, and then freeze when they see us
-Old women who stare intensely until you look them in the eye and say "annyong haseyo"

And today I bought a strange ice cream called an "ice pine", which sounds more like "AH-ee-su PA-eye-nuh" - but before you gag and think about pine-sol flavour and Christmas trees, rest assured that this baby was shaped like a little pineapple the size of a pine cone.

Last Friday we had a salsa show at Urban club. The owners are a great bunch of people, and they took care of us as we rehearsed all week, providing orange juice, water, and snacks. We did a rueda with five couples, and our "salsa showcase" with two couples. It was a lot of fun and went really well. Our girls were decked out with dramatic smokey makeup, and the dances went well - the only scary moment being when both Christine and I were being flipped in the air upside down and our feet hit each other mid-air.... there is a troupe of Brazilian professional dancers who work at a local amusement park, and bringing them to a party is like opening a can of worms of fun. We had a conga line going, and danced up a storm until close to 4am, where we ended up at Burger King where I had a shrimp burger. Sorry ... See-oo bah-guh.

I don't do this often. My days of partying till 6am are pretty much over. If a crazy friday happens, I am pretty much out of commission on Saturday. So Sharifa and I lounged about in the sunshine on my rooftop, lying on bright fuschia fabric and wearing skimpy clothes. My Korean neighbours consider the roof a place for drying clothing, and storing garbage. Most Korean people do not suntan, as the many whitening products and SPF 100 creams prove. But in a country where summer and beach season are defined by dates, and have nothing to do with the actual weather, a pair of sunbathing foreigners just look plain crazy. My neighbour and her two kids were peering at us from behind a wall. I am talking about obvious spying - their heads would pop out against the wall edge, the rest of their bodies hidden. The positive side side of the rigid ideas of when it is appropriate to go to the beach, is that when beach season is considered over, the normally crowded beaches become a pleasant place to hang out. The weather is exactly the same. No more world records for the most people on beach (Haeundae in Busan a couple of years ago). Just me, smiling up at the sun, as Korean girls teeter through the sand in their stilettos.

Me? I religiously wear my heels in appropriate places like a salsa club. Not while hiking. And salsa is a big part of my life these days. I am taking my on-2 Ladies Styling class and loving it so much. Que viva la salsa. My teacher whose English name is Kitten, and the Caribe owner, whose English (Spanish) name is Gitano also showed up at the fiesta last weekend. Good times in Daegu.

And last but not least, I really appreciate some of the people in my neighbourhood. Like the middle-aged man I bought my bike from last year at his used bike shop. On Sunday I was biking downtown, and as I passed his shop I decided it would be a good time to put in air. I also have been having a loud squealing noise coming from my brakes every time I slow down. This startles many pedestrians (people here bike on the sidewalk and largely without helmets). So I said this to him in Korean: "If stop, "_____" sound loud hear!" He laughed at my ghetto Korean, and proceeded to... fix it. And refused to take any money. He's a hilarious character who usually has a cigarette sticking out of his mouth, but also a jolly smile. These people around the neighbourhood that I see on a frequent basis create a sense of community for me here.

salsa etc.

Le midnight croissant! (purchased at "Paris Baguette)

Tonight I had so much fun I was debating on leaving Korea! I LOVE LOVE LOVE my new salsa class. I am studying with "Kitten" who is a fabulous dancer best known for her highly sexy styling and curvaceous physique (by Korean standards) at a salsa club called Caribe. I was in heaven! I learned some body isolation and body rolls, salsa style booty pops, some new steps and turns, and some pretty shines with delicate ladies styling. LOVE LOVE LOVE.

And the Caribe owner is interested in enlisting my PR skills to help him promote a weekly latin night targeting the foreign community. But unfortunately I could not stay while the rest of the ladies were filming kitten doing the moves. The salsa shoes were slipped into their bag and I zipped up my ridiculously high peep toe booties, and went to the second club of the night. And did I mention that I'm talking about a Monday? Welcome to Melinda's life pre-salsa show.

I headed to Urban next where a couple of our salseros were waiting. We have a great mix of foreigners (I'm gonna have to stop using this word back home) and Korean students who are doing a rueda. There was a bit of a mixup as I tried to decide whether to dance as a man or woman - I am a proud androgynous salsa dancer - but I went with woman. It was a pretty chill Monday night crowd at the club, but we had a bit of an audience.

There were a few Koreans who were enjoying some drinks at the bar who got excited about salsa and got up to learn. One of the guys I met was a modern dance teacher and he invited me to one of his shows. He asked me if I wanted his foreign or Korean name. I said the Korean one, which was Dong-wook. why? because I have grown tired of Koreans using crappy English names. Why should you have an English name? You already have a Korean one. Dong-wook will always be a better name than Jacob Tutu, Converse, or Microwave.

I actually met a guy yesterday who said he used to go by Peter, but now uses his Korean name. That was sweet sweet music to my ears and I celebrated by piercing a slab of kimchi with my metal chopsticks and exclaiming MASHITDA.

But back to Dong-wook. He told me that he knows Mexican-style salsa. I made a weird face as images of norteno dancing popped into my head. Then he said, "Mexico.. Colombia salsa." Salsa snob that I am, I let him know that Mexican style doesn't exist... "to my knowledge," I threw in as an afterthought (Confucious gets to you once you're here long enough, trust me. All that bowing and two-handed serving and indirect making of requests.... I can't control it anymore). And allow me to interject right here, that Ecuador doesn't have a salsa style either. Sure,

Ecuadorians dance salsa. Not strikingly well compared to say, Colombians, but other types of music like cumbia, merengue and *gasp* techno, are popular. But the people who dance it really well (i.e. lots of turns which always impress people) the way lots of North Americans like to imagine are really a small minority.

Anyways once we agreed that Colombian style is awesome, me and Dong-wook high fived each other and I was on my way to catch a cab home.

A smaller group of us will also be doing the pretty complicated dance with some flips and stunts - this time we'll film it and you'll see us doing the no-hand cartwheel and jumping onto the guys with one leg in the air. Stuntage: 100% courtesy of Ms. Sanchez. (I'm glad she made us do it) Looks like Daegu is going to have a serious month of latin parties this month.... nice-suh.

Now to see a huge shift in tone, this is what I wrote earlier at my desk during the dreary dreary gray day that was today:

Writer's block.

Suddenly I become fascinated in reading news articles. A quick search on Al Jazeera turns into career stalking of Imran Garda and Teresa Bo. How did they get where they are? What can I do to get there, too?

It is absolute torture to be sitting down. TORTURE. I listen to salsa. I mentally walk through the choreography we will practice tonight. My mind can leave, my mind can go.. .anywhere but here.

My concentration definitely sucks today. But my posture is fantastic, as Asha points out. Probably because of the vast amounts of dance in my life these days. But let's backtrack a bit, and talk about the weekend - significantly more interesting than my weekdays. So there were two birthday parties. Asha's, which started with a lovely dinner and transitioned into dancing, and another party that required all attendees to wear togas. A large number of my friends were involved, including some salsa gente. I don't really do togas, so I went with a festive neon-blue cheetah print dress, which I claim helps me sell the salsa class. I always wear dresses to salsa, and I like to add a barrio fab edge, however, I was put in my place by Nakia: "Looks like you're selling a lot more than the class."

But regardless of toga and dinner parties, salsa must happen, so I went to Babalu to assist our LA style guest instructors to do their thing. But upon arrival at the club I was in for a surprise. Alexander, my beloved Babalu employee and friend, quit his job at the salsa club to take an acting job in Seoul.

He has provided hours of entertainment and witty commentary, and taught me a few secrets, like the fact that some Korean guys call ugly girls "ogres" and pretend that they will kill them, as if life were a video game. He also explained the nightclub system in detail, taught me what actually goes down on some hiking retreats for middle-aged singles, helped us out with salsa practices and parties including filming us as we prepared performances, taught me a lot about Korean culture and food (cheese kimbab!) and helped me practice a whole lot of Korean - with the "coveted" Seoul accent. He was extremely patient as I struggled to pronounce the evil evil double consonants that I fail to hear.

I also had the joy of teaching him phrases like "batti ridah" and "batti bwoy" and watching the reaction on a Guyanese man's face when he said it to him.

But wait.....look at this pic! those are batti ridahs if I've ever seen 'em. And thus me and the batti ridified man agreed that I was allowed to use the phrase batti ridah just that one time. And look at how the birthday girl's a champ!

GOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOL!
I'm doing a countdown to the Ecuador vs. South Korea game on May 16. I have a flag, a 2006 jersey, a faux Adidas jacket, an assortment of patriotic azul amarillo y rojo jewelery, and even face paint. Sorry Korea, but this time I want you to lose.

I am also taking a break from my weekly private language classes to focus on salsa - a woman only has so many hours in a day- but I did attend a language exchange event yesterday which was a great opportunity to meet some new people and practice my Korean. neeeEEEE.

부비부비 I've had enough! ㅠㅠ

Layers of pink chiffon, cute tiny little shuffling steps, delicate feminine giggling, large bows and ruffles, patent leather shoes and the general look I wore to church when I was four years old but on a grown woman... these are all things that rub me the wrong way, which already set me up to be pissed off by this commercial.

Call me a proper young lady, but there are certain things that make me cringe like nails on a blackboard because they seem so goshdarn inappropriate. One of those is the word "pee". I absolutely hate hearing people talk about how they are about to go pee. I strongly believe that everyone should just excuse themselves and be on with their business before returning to said social situation without any mention of the last five minutes of their life.

But what takes gross to a whole new level is the phrase 부비부비...which means grinding, whining, apegado, or dancing close. But it's worse. Korean has many onomatopoeic sounds such as chika chika for tooth-brushing, but bubi bubi is supposed to be the sound of two bodies rubbing together. One time in club, before approaching from behind, a Korean guy asked me, "Do you know Korean-dance 부비부비?" And Sunday nights at club Monkey in Daegu are designated 부비 nights.

Part of the reason this offends me so much is that 부비부비 is a term that uses cutesiness to refer to something sexual. This is just as repulsive as a man busting out some baby talk in the bedroom.

So imagine my utter horror and disbelief when I saw this cell phone commercial. My Korean co-worker says that it's okay that the phrase bubi-bubi is being used because of Ji-yeon's cute outfit and girlish look, complete with the decidedly juvenile floppy bow. "It's innocent because she looks cute." And if this cellphone has the "bump" bluetooth file transfer function, I suppose it is 1% more acceptable to say the b-word. But I am still grossed-out by the existence of the term 부비부비, and hope that it goes out of style real soon - a common trait of all fashion trends in Korea, so fingers crossed.

La Bendita's Easter Weekend

EASTER

When I woke up today, I found myself missing the excellent musical quality of the Mennonite church, and this familiar hymn was playing in my head. Here in Korea you wouldn't know it's Easter Monday, because it's the Cold Food Festival. I got a similar comfort from listening to the hymn as I get from hanging a rosary above my bed - I'm not a religious person, but these markers of culture and tradition help to create a sense of home. I also greatly miss my mother's Easter baskets that I have still been receiving in my 20s. Who doesn't love a chocolate bunny!

And speaking of things i miss, last Friday I really missed eating Fanesca, the Ecuadorian delicious thick soup eaten on Good Friday. My dad said, "cuando me sirva el segundo plato, vamos a pensar en ti." El segundo! Pero que amable! Since childhood, we have almost always gone to eat my Aunt Gladys' version, something that no amount of the best kimchi can ever replace.

(*.^)

The ginormous latin party Charanga for Chile is over. Hours of practice, promotion, and preparation went into this event that drew over 200 people and raised a few thousand dollars for the Chilean Earthquake Relief Fund. English teachers and university professors, Latino military, the Peruvian worker community, Brasilian dancers, Korean Spanish students, and others came out to dance and watch the show. You can see me in the black matte-yet-shiny capri leggings:

At the end of the night, we went for galbi (Korean BBQ) at 4am. A group of Korean university students got into a fight, where food was thrown and tables were pushed. My favourite moment was when a skinny guy menacingly grabbed a soju bottle and threatened to hit his friend in the head with it. Dinner and a free show! Don't mind if I do. The drama at the restaurant is probably why the Korean staff was so attentive when an unknown and extremely drunk foreign guy stumbled to the floor. He somehow managed to wear his converse into the restaurant - a major no-no when you sit on cushions on the floor. So the staff helped him take off his shoes and did him the favour of carrying them to the shoe lockers at the entrance. He eventually lay down and fell into a deep sleep. So people decided to have some fun. The staff assisted by bringing out empty cases of soju bottles.

(*.^)

Break time at work: Asha and I often walk over to a local coffee shop. We used to be able to walk across the street, but a few months ago a thigh-high barrier was erected as well as a light - that takes a good five minutes to change. I'm not the only one guilty of jay-walking: I saw our CEO do a running leap over the barrier once. Mysteriously, often traffic lights are green when pedestrians are not given the walk signal in the same direction. No turning signals - so I've always considered this a safe time to walk. I mean, I can dodge cars speeding down winding roads on Andean mountains, so I know I'm good. But today, a cop drove by on a motorcycle. He yelled at us through his paisley bandanna, to which I replied "외국인" (foreigner) while meekly shrugging my shoulders. That, my friends, is the "foreigner card".

And at the coffee shop, I ran into a Korean woman in her late 30s I always see at the gym. She complimented me on my S-line, and also pulled her jacket to the side to show off her own side-profile, to which I exclaimed, "와! 맞아요. 에쓰 라이느 있어요." (woah! That's right! What an S-line!"

(*.^)

Next up: Many weeks of late practices that cut into sleep were worth it but all of us dancers are tired - and we'll be taking a week off from salsa class to give people time to do their thing - my thing being a weekend in Seoul where I am excited to be meeting up with one of my mom's former high school ESL students, who is Korean and doing his co-op work term here, some CIDA intern friends, and distributing copies of Daegu Pockets to businesses featured in my past article on Seoul's latin scene.

LUNCH, ABORTION, PEDESTRIANS

I was out for lunch with some of my Korean co-workers when the Korea's ban on abortion came up. Although not encouraged, abortion has been an option up until recently. But now, doctors and women are faced with a $2000 fine and jail time for the doctor and potentially the woman as well. Does it have to do with Lee Myung-bak administration's attempt to increase South Korea's birthrate (which has been denied)? We discussed this as well as why Korean and English are so hard to learn respectively, as we ate pasta and salad. Note that these western foods were Koreanized by serving everything on one communal plate, where each person takes a little, bit by bit, onto a small side plate. Our pineapple and grape Fanta (you know you're not in north america when...) was also served in huge glasses with multiple pastel-coloured straws.

When it came time to pay up, one of the men went to pay. He is the manager of the audio section of the Editing department, which may or may not be significant. I tried to offer some money, but he said, "Just get me a coffee," adding that it should be sweet as in caramel latte, and not a "nasty" Americano (맛없다).

Our group of three women and two men then went to a coffee shop. Here the other guy paid for everyone's coffees, significant in a country where coffee can cost as much as a decent meal. I guess next time will be my turn.

~~~

Susy and I are finishing up choreography for the dance show we have coming up in April. Since I've started teaching salsa in Korea, one of the biggest challenges I face is explaining a lot of what I do naturally. I know how to do something right, but I don't know how to break down what is a natural instinct for me. Susy has been really helpful with pointing this out and helping me to break down and teach what is either attributed to my "natural ability" or years of practice (probably both). We are doing some stunts where girls are thrown into the air- so watch for those videos if you can't make it to the show on April 3rd.

~~~

PEDESTRIAN CULTURE

When you walk by someone in public, people in Korea pass to the left. They drive on the right... and scooters or motorcycles weave in and out of wherever they walk on sidewalks, but as a pedestrian it is clear that you must pass on the left. What strikes me though, is that a lot of people who I asked say they don't notice this, unlike in Japan, where people consciously told me they pass on the left (ie Kaz). So I tried passing to the right. This always results in a fumble where you dodge to both directions before someone finally insists on talking one path.

And since we're talking about pedestrians, anyone who comes here will immediately notice people's lack of awareness as they walk. Countless times, I have almost crashed into people who are busy texting, or just randomly staring at the ground as they walk. I suppose I can allow this behaviour, as long as their using the new Big Bang-endorsed Lollipop cell phone.

When I'm on my bike, I have to ding the bell to alert people to my approach. This never felt as necessary in Canada, where dinging the bell feels almost rude. (Excessive apologizing, anyone?) I pull it out as my last possible resource in Canada. But here, perhaps due to the high population density, no one will move UNLESS you ring that bell. People also love honking their car horns way more. I suppose noise is okay when cell phone ring tones can be heard over kpop music that plays at transfer points on the subway line.

And as a last, immature note, every lesson plan I have created this week has taught adjectives, and I have used the words "big old" to precede various nouns. I can't deny that every time I hear "big ol'..." I think of pitbull, and want to finish the sentence with "booty".

I DARE YOU (^_^)

Last night I was in a convenience store with my friend when a Korean couple walked by. The guy turned to me, and took in a deep breath of air before uttering one syllable: "Hi."

He immediately hunched over into an embarassed giggle, as did his girlfriend, and they scampered out of the store, clearly experiencing an adrenaline rush over the audacity of his actions. When this happens, I always say hi back, in the event that it's someone I actually have been introduced to and might have forgotten - to save face, mi gente! But this was a clear case of them having planned to say hi. The conversation might have gone something like this:

-I dare you to say hi to those foreigners!

-No - you do it!

-Ok! What should I say?

-Just say hi! ㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ (korean laughing that sounds like static)

Having people randomly come up to you and say "hi" in English is quite common. And I get that someone wants to say hi to you, start a conversation, be friendly, practice their English. But why have an obnoxiously loud conversation as you walk by? Yeah. I have been walking downtown when a group of Koreans might be walking towards me from the other direction. One time, I heard a guy say to his friend, "Hi, how are you?"

His friend replied, "I'm FINE thank you.... how are you?" all at a volume that was clearly intended for listeners outside the group, and an exchange that only started right before they passed us.

Then they took off, ㅋ!ㅋ!ㅋ! - all the way home.

If you aren't in Korea, it might be hard for you to imagine why speaking to a foreigner is such a big deal, especially when so many young Koreans have an excellent command of English. But look at the category: foreigner. Do we even use vocabulary like that to refer to immigrants in Canada? I've met people that freak out when I ask a question in English. If they don't understand, they often don't give me a second chance to re-phrase or repeat. They are too embarassed and often exit the conversation. Busting out one's heavily-accented Korean usually helps.

And of course this whole "omg it's a foreigner!" attitude also affects dating. Currently, an American friend of mine and her Korean boyfriend want to set me up with one of his friends for a double-date. He has a nice guy in mind, who speaks English. But, this nice guy wasn't sure he wanted to meet a foreigner. Why? He claims he is scared. I'll keep you posted. All I ask of the world is that the next time someone sets me up on a Korean-style blind date, that they inform/ask me first.... ㅋㅋㅋ!