The Korean Pass-time

One of my Korean co-workers arranged for us foreign teachers to go to a baseball game in Busan with him. This is something I've been waiting to do since I landed here. Baseball is just as popular as back home (a runner up only to soccer in terms of popularity.) and since it's Korea it comes with a whole lot less hassle. Let me list all the ways Korean baseball is awesome.

1. No traffic jams. We take the subway.
2. You can bring a picnic or 2 pizzas like we did.
3. No pat downs. Insane security is not needed because Koreans don't smuggle weapons into sporting events.
4. No profanity (at least that I could understand or gather from body language). Koreans keep it classy.
5. Good seats are only 10 bucks.

I'm sold.

Fans at Lotte Giants games wear plastic bags on their heads to show their support. 

This is Kevin, one of my Korean co-workers. He's a really nice guy and always helpful.

When in Rome.

Leave it to a Korean girl to make a plastic bag cute.

Americans getting their cute on. 

The Lotte Giants are no Cubs but I'm planning on having a summer fling with them. Go Lotte!

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Korean vocab: Baseball/야구공 /YAH-GOO-GONG

DJ DOC Concert

Edward, my co-worker: "Are you coming to the concert?"

Me: "Uh, what concert?

I've always been a little out of the loop but  it's even worse in Korea. I'm glad that I run in circles of people who know what's going on. As luck would have it, Edward happened to know about and invite Courtney (My other American co-worker) and I to a free concert at Ulsan University. Apparently all Korean Universities have a festival week in the spring. I'm so glad we crashed this one because it turned out to be one of the best nights I've had in Ulsan.

DJ DOC is really good. The music is high energy, catchy, and event though it's 80% sung in Korean I could still sing along with parts of it. The music has a very international sound, with Latin, Jamaican, and African flavors popping up unexpectedly. Check out the clips and links below. You'll find yourself rhythmically singing along in no time.

This concert felt really unique. It was really intimate for a free concert by a very popular band. We showed up right before the concert began and still managed to get about 20 feet away from the stage, although it did take some fancy footwork. DJ DOC arrived in a regular car and drove through the front entrance like a regular person. He was flanked by some soccer-mom style minivans. Sometimes Korea is so unexpectedly low-maintenance. Also, the concert-goers were so polite. There was minimal pushing and shoving. When he concert finally ended after three encores people orderly shuffled off the soccer field and over to the booths serving booze, chicken, fish cake soup, and other drinking fare.

Speaking of post concert festivities, our night was just about to start. Edward, Courtney and I sat down for a beer, one of which exploded all over me as the guy tried to open it for me. He was way more apologetic than necessarily and gave us some free drinks after he mopped me up. After beer and some light snackage a group of drunk and extremely friendly Koreans approached us and rather easily convinced us to be friends. We later joined their gang of hilarious characters at a beer tent across the ally. And that's where we stayed drinking soju and beer and chatting animately until 4am. I love when memorable nights happen by chance.

Check out his fan! Rock star.

Edward and Courtney throwing up their "L"s.

Festival tents.

Post-concert, pre-Korean friends noms.

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Korean vocab: University/대학교 /DAY-HAK-GYO

Favoritism

Definition by me. Drawing by an adorable student.

Happy (belated) Birthday, Buddha!

**** This post is a month late.
******Click on the pictures to make them larger.


Temple areas, bridges, and other public spaces had been decorated with brightly colored lanterns for weeks. So, I had an inkling that something exciting was about to happen. That something was a three day weekend to celebrate Buddha's birthday!


Buddha's birthday is a pretty cool holiday because most people get the day off work, the weather is usually nice, if you go to the temple you can eat free bibimbap, there are parades, and there are pretty lanterns everywhere. I celebrated by going to Seoul for the Lotus Lantern Parade, an annual parade packed with dancers, lantern carriers, and giant, brightly lit floats. This parade blew  all others I've seen out of the water. 

But first.... a snack!

This is what our snack looked like before it was fried.

This whole ally was filled with street food.

Mmmm, giant blood sausage.

Now to the parade.

Chillin'

.

Kisses for my fish lantern.

I call this one 'Linabean with Lotus'.

Haha. Love how this float parked under the street sign. Perfect.

Peace out!

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Korean vocab: Lantern/칸델라 /CON-DAY-LA

The witticisms of students

Tim: Your face is ugly and disgusting.

Holmes: Your face looks like it was made in China!

That's the best comeback I've heard in a while, and it was delivered by an 11 year old kid who has only been taking English classes for about 2 years. I was darn proud of Holmes.