Six of the seven children take piano lessons, plus in addition, Gwynyth now is learning guitar and Oakley is learning the clarinet. I let Gwynyth play for me and it was so cute. Then Oakley came in with his clarinet and started playing for me. It didn't start off too badly, but suddenly he screeched out an ear-splitting note. He stopped looked at his clarinet, shook it little and then said, "It does that sometimes. I'm not sure why." Uhhh. . . I know why and it's not the clarinet's fault!
The above pictures are of the medicinal section of Seomun Market in downtown Daegu. This place was sheer craziness when we went. Underneath the market in the subway stations are long hallways of shops selling shoes, underwear, tupperwear, makeup. Above ground they sell dogs and cats for eating, intestines on a platter, fresh (very pungent) fish and octopus/squid. The market is a free for all, an especially unique version of Asian Crazy. Fortunately, it's easy to spot a blond or black kid in the sea of Koreans, because if I let go of the kids even for a second, they're swept away in crowd of mayhem. It's always an exhausting outing, but I inevitably find something out of the ordinary or unpredictable when we go--which I love. Giselle was entranced by the dried pheasant carcasses. I have no idea what those are for, but I may just buy a few to send home for Christmas to relatives. I'm sure they'd love unwrapping those!
Korea is for lovers--and for Koreans that's no laughing matter!! The wedding and honeymoon are the most important part of a Korean youth's life. Everything seems to revolve around that here. And for most of the Korean marriages I've seen, after the wedding it just goes downhill. When we go shopping downtown there are always boyfriends/girlfriends holding hands, wearing matching outfits. It's like watching a bunch of overgrown third graders. What's even funnier is that the big thing is his and her matching lingerie. I love the sexy, matching animal print above that would obviously make a romantic evening filled with animalistic passion! Actually, the funny thing about the above picture is the underwear mannequins. When displaying sexy underwear, you really want to accentuate the size of the head, right?
This one is awesome because we all know that secretly every man wishes he could wear lacy flowered underwear. . . especially if he can pair it with a fedora and a bowtie. Maybe you have to live in Korea to find this really funny--because men here really do love this look, amongst others. Sometimes we'll be walking downtown and the kids will say, "Mom, do you think that guy is gay?" And I'll have to explain, "No, honey. He's just Korean."
Speaking of cheesy, and sappy the above picture features a Teddy Bear cafe. Basically, lovers and friends (not just women and children--in fact, it's not even meant for children) go up to these little Victorian style booths, with TVs and giant Teddy Bears. They drink coffee, snuggle with plush animals and watch sporting events. I wonder if this was some man's way of getting his girlfriend to watch the game with him? Or if it is an excuse for men to meet the needs of both nature and nurture: watching heathenistic rituals of men cruelly smashing into each other, all the while feeling the comforts of childhood. Anyway it goes, I think it's hilarious and I laugh as I walk by and see grown ups up there cuddling stuffed animals.
When I saw the above store, I laughed and wondered if the name of this lingerie boutique was derived from the fact that their underwear rides up. . . way up!
So while we were out walking downtown with the kids, we decided that it would be fun to get the little girls ears repierced. I had them done for the girls when they were little, but they were so sensitive to the jewelry I bought, that I just let the holes close back up. Sophia and Giselle both decided they wanted earrings again like the older three girls, so we agreed. After looking in several stores, we found this jewelry shop with gold earrings and they said they did ear piercings. Giselle still had holes, but they were mostly closed up. Sophia had one hole that was fine, but the other side was completely closed with no indication that it had ever been pierced. The lady got the earrings ready and had Giselle sit down. She didn't use the piercing gun, but instead just forced the earrings through the holes. It hurt a little, but it was pretty quick because the holes were still there. Then she came to Sophia. She took a marker and marked the spot on Sophie's ear where the hole needed to go, then had her sit on a stool. In the moment that I looked around for the piercing gun, the woman took the earring and simply stabbed it through Sophia's ear with her hands. Sophia didn't scream but her eyes about popped out of her head. I gasped. That was definitely not what I had in mind--I could have done that at home. I would have even used some ice. I was shocked, but once it was done, it was done. We payed the $40 and left laughing because obviously something was lost in translation in that experience.
Very close to our apartment building is an entrance to the subway mall and subway station. We walk through this several times a week to get to the downtown area. Recently, they put up a new business of "Royal" dog sitting. Each dog has a personal assistant that plays with it. It's so cheesy, it's funny (as are many aspects of Korean culture). But the funniest part is the dedication these people have to their jobs. After intensely exercising the little puppies, the man in blue opened up a bag of doggy treats, took one out and tested it before giving it to the dog. We were all standing there watching and when we saw that, there was a collective moan and a little dry heaving from our whole family. Obviously, we're not the ones for that job!
This is a dark, dirty alley really close to our building. We walk past it every day and even see rats scurry through occasionally. I can read Korean and know small phrases and some words, but because of the plethora of English cognates, sometimes just being able to read it explains enough. For example, this particular sign says in Korean "Shyoping Moll". Which I am so glad that I could read the Korean because I definitely would not have guessthat that's what this place was! Honestly, I've yet to go shopping there.
The PX has not been carrying fingernail polish remover in the last few months, so after continuously adding layers of the same color of polish, I decided it was time to look in the Korean markets for the desired product. We found this at a booth in Seomun outdoor market. I didn't realize what it said until Sophia pulled it out in the car and I about died laughing. It reads "Nail Remover: Vegan Friendly." Wow! That sounds like some sort of torture method to punish meat eaters. I guess I will have to give up meat, eggs and dairy products before using this product or the results could be agonizing!
This one cracks me up. I kept driving by this apartment building on my way to Camp Walker, wondering why in the world they would think to name an apartment building "Dream of Bill." I kept thinking who is this Bill guy? He must be super hot. Then one time, I thought maybe they meant that if you live there you would have "dream utility bills." Finally, I got close enough to read the Korean underneath and it says, "Duhreem Bill." That's when I really started laughing. The building that we live in is called "Gareen Bill" or directly translated, "Green Villa." Korean alphabet does not have a "V" sound, so they use a "B" instead. So it should read in English, "Dream Villa," but someone got confused and dictated the phonetic sounds straight across and got "Dream of Bill." I just have to wonder, with all the Americans around, hasn't anyone pointed out there's a little bit of difference in the meaning?
Saturday, I promised the kids donuts at the local Krispy Kreme. When we got there, this is what we found. What good is a doughnut store if you can't hunt for Doug? Uhh. . . what? I'm not sure what is funnier, the nonsensical sign or the nonsense that there's no donuts at a donut shop!
Hello Kitty is seriously a national icon in Korea. It's a frenzy not only for children, but grown-ups alike. This store is awesome. It is Hello Kitty EVERYTHING, plus other cheesy and hilarious stationary items (my favorite). I love that it resembles Disneyland, because we all know shopping for Hello Kitty memorabilia is just that fun. . . even for men like Brian.
In order to see the writing on this photo, you'll probably have to zoom in and to make it really funny, you need to know that June is a men's name in Korean. So basically this is a dialogue between June (a guy) and his girlfriend and they're fighting over her underwear. This is disturbing on so many levels--but it makes me laugh every time I read it.So after one year in Korea, I admit that I simultaneously love it and hate it here. I admit that I dread going back to the states while at the same time being terribly homesick. Life here is fun, crazy, unpredictable and at times very exhausting (especially the extreme racism we face). I love the busy city and having taxis to send the kids around so I can do my own thing. But, I really, really miss a yard, a garbage disposal, a full-sized dishwasher, understanding what people are saying around me and Texas Roadhouse. I think that in 10 months when it is time for us to leave I will be ready, but then again, I think I will miss living overseas and we will try to move out of the States again as soon as I finish my externship hours and get fully licensed. I really am worried that once I move back to the States, I won't be able to find funny things to use as self-medication. But then again, I guess there are always the people that shop at Wal-Mart. . . .
1 comment:
Thanks for the fun post!
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