It's New To Me

One of the best things about living in a different country is encountering new things. Museums, culturally significant landmarks, and amusement parks are fun but the things that I don't plan to encounter usually stick with me more. Korea has given me so much of that unplanned entertainment, that raw uncut culture.

This is certainly not the most memorable thing I've happened upon but it is the most recent. We travelled to Daejon for an Ultimate Frisbee tournament. We got off the train and left the large train station and found this huge gathering just outside the entrance. They had a stage with someone shouting forcefully to the group. There were hundreds of guys with these red headbands.

The stage had a huge fist as a backdrop. I have no idea what they were saying, but the tone sounded like "NO MERCY!" or "DEATH TO TRAITORS!" It was really heated (sounding).

The thing is, you never know how things are going or what is happening because of the language barrier. The guy who was yelling and rallying the attendees stopped yelling, the attendees stopped chanting, and 3 young girls came on stage and started dancing to pop songs. Can you imagine being at an environmental protest and then taking a break to have a few members of the high school dance team move in unison to Lil' Wayne's latest track? It was just weird.

I love it. I love the unpredictability, and I love that things that are probably very normal and part of everyday life here cause me to stop and think: It might be normal here, but it's new to me.

Art in Korea

Last weekend was one amazing weekend, and I want to tell you about it. For a few months now, Jess has been preparing for an art show at the Gwangju International Center (GIC). This organization is such an asset to Gwangju. They have their hands in many different aspects of life in Gwangju, connecting the foreign community and the Korean community in meaningful ways. Check out their website here: www.gic.or.kr

One of the ways they impact the community is by having art talks every Saturday. Jess was invited to display his works and give a talk about his work. For those of you who've seen any of Jess' work, you know that his most recent work (in graduate school and beyond) revolves around our relationship with the media in all it's forms. His work calls people's attention to the messages we receive, and how those messages affect our perception of reality. What is our relationship with the media? This theme in his work has continued here in Korea, now extending beyond just advertising in media and now touching on politics as well.

When Jess was in graduate school, he spent time every week talking about his art work. This is an important component of his life as an artist. You can't just make art and leave it. Art is a channel for discussion and relationship, so you have to be able to talk about your work and listen as others explain their perceptions. But this opportunity at the GIC was different than his experiences in school, because he was talking to a room full of people who were not artists and on top of that, at least half of the people spoke English as a second language. He had a new challenge in front of him!

Just before the talk began, the room filled up and the wonderful volunteers at the GIC began bringing more and more chairs into the room. There were over 50 people in attendance and there was excitement in the air as one volunteer introduced Jess. Jess spoke for about 20 - 25 minutes. He began by explaining how his work has developed over the years, explaining that all of his work has focused on one theme, relationships. Then he went on to elaborate about how his work calls attention to our relationship with media.

Due to the controversial nature of his work, we were unsure how his talk would be received. We were pleasantly surprised as the talk ended and the question period began. The questions asked were thoughtful and heartfelt. As the discussion continued, we quickly realized that many of the people in the room (foreigners and Koreans) had been grappling with the same issues and concerns represented in his work. The question period lasted almost as long as the talk did. The discussion that followed was rich and enlightening for everyone. As each question was answered by Jess, others in the crowd shared their answers and ideas too. There was a fellowship and community that formed in that room. Which is what the GIC does best. They create a rich and supportive community, building bridges between the different cultures represented in Gwangju.

The show opening and art talk at the GIC was a complete success. The rest of the time we spent in Gwangju, Jess was constantly approached by people who had attended the show and wanted to talk to him about his work. We could not have asked for a better community to share his work with. The staff and volunteers at the GIC were absolutely amazing. They took care of so many of the details and made the whole process easy. And on top of that, we had some of our closest friends by our side the whole time. Whit and Lindsay were wonderful hosts for us (they always fix an amazing breakfast!), many of our Gwangju friends came out to see the show, and our great friends Sharon and Bogdan traveled all the way from Daegu with us. We felt loved and supported!

Just this week Jess found a new contact that might lead to another show, this time in our city, Daegu. We'll keep you posted about how Jess' art life continues to develop.

Jeopardy

A few weeks ago Beth and I had game day at our Hogwan (the private school where we teach). We divided the class into two teams and had them play Jeopardy. Most of the classes really loved it, and a few of them were very competitive. As a prize, we told the winning team that we would take their pictures and post them on a champions board. This did not go over well. I pulled the camera out of my pocket and they freaked out, hiding their faces and getting really angry. We decided candy was a better option.




A few of the girls came back and asked Beth to take a picture of them once they had a chance to check the mirror and make sure everything looked good. They love to flash this two finger sign for photographs, I think it means victory or something.

Gate Ball

Check this dapper dude out. He was playing some form of croquet under a bridge here in Daegu. There were probably 30+ senior citizens in full uniform playing what they called "Gate Ball." This wasn't a kit you'd buy at Wal-Mart either, they had stainless steel mallets. There were referees and from the yelling I think the game was pretty intense.

Sushi

Korean sushi is not the Japanese sushi we get in the states. They don't bother wrapping the fish up in seaweed and rice. They get right to the point here, just a big platter o' fish.


In Korea each meal is served with multiple side dishes. Here are some pics of the appetizers/kimchi that we ate beforehand. Sea snails, boiled peanuts, seaweed sheets, radish, cucumbers, carrots, bean curd, and sweet potatoes.



How do you eat sea snails? These things still have barnacles on them, you can't just suck the snail out. Grab a toothpick and pull that sucker (no pun intended) out of the shell. It isn't anything that I loved, but it wasn't that bad either. You can see the sushi in the background to the left.



Sure, sushi chefs will cut the fish up in front of you in the States, but is the tail still flipping? They pull these guys out of the tank and cut 'em up and put them on the plate. We use the term "fresh" to describe food in the States but I think this is on another level. Unfortunately I didn't get any pictures of this. Instead, please enjoy this picture of the leftovers after the appetizers. Sea snail shells, a boiled peanut, and a boiled quail eggs.



Our director (the equivalent of the Principal) at our school took us to his Aunt's sushi place where we had this sushi. It was in Busan, the second largest city in Korea which is situated on the coast. This spot was in the middle of 20+ tents serving the exact same thing. Here in Korea, once you find your place for sushi that is the only place you go.

the end of the day

We usually work at night, but right now we have Wednesdays off and we get to see the sunset. It's really beautiful here. This is a shot Beth took from our balcony.

Shanghai

One of the most interesting places we saw outside of the EXPO was an Insect and Bird market. This place was really bizarre. More than anything, they had crickets for sale, which we learned the Chinese believe can bring luck. In the US when you buy crickets, you buy a cup full. Here, they sell them individually. Each cricket is in its own ceramic container. Before customers buy them they poke at them with a stick--I have no idea what this tells them.

They also have tons of giant locusts and plenty of bugs I've never seen before. There were weird turtles, exotic birds, giant fish, chipmunks, and squirrels. The place was packed. One guy told me I couldn't take pictures, but I managed to get a few.