IT'S THE PEOPLE YOU MEET

When we were in Gyeongju for the long weekend we found a wonderful little cafe called Yan's (the owner's name). We stumbled across this little family-run place accidentally while looking for another cafe. With it's second-floor balcony catching the afternoon sun we nested there for a couple hours to drink hand-dripped coffee and plan our hiking route for the following day.
From the minute we entered the cafe, I loved it. None of the corporate franchise big chain regularity that Seoul offers on every street corner. Just a nice lady behind the wooden counter packing coffee beans, Eric Clapton on the stereo and no other customers.
After ordering a Guatemala and Costa Rica coffees (how cultured are we??) we basked in the afternoon sun appreciating our find. Soon after, the owner, who is also the husband of the lady who served us, came out to introduce himself. A "cool dude" in all senses. Long hair tied back in a pony tail, though a little thin on top, he had the charisma of an old rock star. He cheerfully chatted with us in broken English while his wife brought the coffee and a big plate of cookies.
An hour later they brought us come complimentary iced coffee to ease our growing sunburn. And we lounged there quite contentedly until dinner time.
A couple of days later we returned to spend a rainy afternoon there drinking hot coffee and relaxing before our long bus journey back to Seoul. However, when we arrived the cafe was closed and no signs were visable indicating opening hours. We were so disappointed that 'our' cafe was closed. But with three hours to kill until our bus and no energy to be tourists we needed to find a suitable alternative. Dunkin donuts looked uninviting, but after five minutes exploring we'd found nothing else. Just as despair was kicking in I heard a car slow down and Tyler started talking to someone. It was Yan, the cafe owner! Where are you going, he asked me. To your cafe, I said, but it's closed (and I did my "disappointment face" which is internationally understandable). He told us that they open at one on Sundays, but he'll take us there now (12:30). So we climbed aboard his cool red SUV and hit the cafe where is wife was just opening up. It felt like a home away from home climbing out of his car and up the steps to be greeted by his wife.We settled down for a couple of hours and drank more delicious and super strong coffee to keep the rainy day chills away. Again we were adorned with extra cups of coffee and plates of cokies. Both Yan and his wife took time to ask about us, our lives in Korea and out hoome countries. And they also told us about their cafe, and daughter, who joins them each weekend night to play live music with her dad for the customers. Aside from the big vinyl record collection there was an allocated space with a few guitars, keyboard, other bits and bobs and a tiny stage.
My two Korean class friends later joined us to escape the rain and also got a hearty warm welcome. I really enjoyed being there. It wasn't just the free extra coffee or special attention I liked. Rather I felt as though they were just really nice people who weren't in the business just for the money. I really enjoyed meeting Yan and his wife and hope their business is successful and they are always as happy as they seemed to me.

MAKING WISHES

When I was a little boy, my Da always told me, "Don't wish your life away". I guess the meaning behind it (be happy with what you have) is a good one, but I took that proverb literally and haven't wished for anything in over fifteen years. I think we've all seen movies or heard childhood stories that highlight the tragedies that can come along with wishes being granted. So I ignored my opportunities; birthday parties, shooting stars, the 'wish-bone' from a roast chicken, etc.
But recently my philosophy changed and I decided it's ok to make wishes and to hope they come true. This change happened on Sunday when I was visiting Seoul's famous Cheonggechon for the first time. This stream is a popular place and has small bridges from where people toss coins whilst making a wish. So, shaking off my old sensibilities I prepared myself mentally and with a coin (borrowed from my good friend Hyangmi). The anticipation was actually kind of exciting in a childish way, as it I expected the outcome to happen immediately. I tossed the coin and made my wish "to fall in love". After making the wish, I actually felt kind of enlightened and light-hearted. This is surprising since usually any form of wasting money fills me with a heavy remorse :o(
This being Korea, there isn't the rule 'keep it secret or it won't come true', so I shared my wish with Hyangmi. Being the great friend she is, she also took a coin and wished for ME to fall in love. She also said she'd pray for me (though that just made me feel like a desperate case, haha) So let's see what happens...

BASEBALL AND LEARNING KOREAN

A friend took me to a Korean league baseball game last week. It was great. Although the soccer game between North and South Korea was fun and the atmosphere was cool, this experience blew it out of the water. It was the opening weekend of the league and the atmosphere was electric. The stadium was jam-packed with fans even sitting on the steps. Luckily we got a couple of seats and had a good view of the game. I'd only been to one baseball game before and that was the Totonto Bluejays back in 1994, so I wasn't too knowlegable about the game. But my Korean buddy explained it pretty well without making me feel like too much of an idiot.
Each of the teams fans had a set of cheerleaders and a guy with a microphone leading chants. This, along with the thousands of 'thundersticks' (the yellow inflatable noisy things you see in the photo) ensured rapturous cheering all over the stadium.
Once I was familiar and confident with the rules and 'my team' and no longer afraid of booing or cheering at the wrong time (and getting lynched by the crowd), I tried to learn the chants. I first learned the most simple. It is the players name (eg: Ii-Yoo-Kyoo) followed by 'hit' (an-ta). But the chanting must be co-ordinated with certain clapping of the thundersticks and other movements, so it takes a while. And also you have to keep up with the changes in player because there's no point cheering for a guy who isn't up to bat. Oh, and you should also be careful not to get carried away with the mood of it all and start singing along when it's the other team up to bat, because you WILL find yourself being eyeballed by all those around you even though you are a foreigner who doesn't know any better.Anyway, I got all this figured out by the seventh (of nine) innings, but just when I was confident, they changed to a new song (probably because my team was losing) and I gave up. Though all in all, it was a great and sunny day at the ballpark.

NEW EXPERIENCES (AND BEING MANLY)

Despite a lack of new experiences in my six months here in Seoul, I just had three this week. First was on Monday when I visited the ENT (Ears, Nose, Throat) doctor. Yellow dust has been causing me lots of problems with congestion and stuff. My new experience was a camera stuck up (way up) my nose with a live video feed to the big screen in the room. Although it was interesting from a biological point of view to see my inner nose, I did not enjoy the pain and vulnerable feeling. Actually it was kind of like torture, but I clenched my jaw and pretended I was in Vietnam (though I don't know why) and tried not to show my discomfort.
Second new experience was at the same doctors four days later when my condition had not improved. After spraying anesthetic up my notice (which apparently didn't work) he 'rammed' a little hoover waaaaaaaaay up there and sucked out mucus and stuff. This was deeper and much more uncomfortable than the camera. And didn't have the distraction of "look, it's your brain" on the live video feed. I didn't cry ('cuz I'm a man, right!) but my eyes streamed water and I was tempted to punch the kind doctor right in HIS nose. Admittedly, I did feel less congested afterward and he prescribed me some antibiotics (probably knowing if I had to come back again someone would get hurt).
And the third new experience was yesterday at a jimjilbang (kind of bathhouse/spa where Koreans hang out/pamper themselves). I've been to many before, but yesterday's place had a little pool full of those fish that eat the dead skin off your feet. Wow! What a bizarre sensation! Now, I've swum with piranhas in the Amazon (just reiterating how much of MAN I am), but when these things latched onto my toes and soles with the 'teeth'(?) I shrieked like a girl and nearly jumped ten feet high. It took a long time to get used to it and I can't say it was actually pleasant at any point, but certainly became bearable and I would do it again. A Canadian friend I was with didn't hold up so well and alternated between five seconds of girly giggling as his feet were submerged and several minutes of knees tucked up to his chest, feet out of water, saying 'I can't do it, I can't do it'. He says he's got super sensitive feet, but I say he's just not very MANLY.

SOUTH KOREA VS NORTH KOREA (FOOTBALL, NOT WAR)

I went to see a football match tonight with some coworkers since we had a day off. It was good craic. North Korea vs South Korea at the World Cup Stadium here in Seoul. It was my first football match in a long time and the atmosphere was great. Lots of cheering, flags, Mexican waves, etc. And I got to see real North Koreans, though to be honest, they look very similar to South Koreans.
The match wasn't amazing, despite the presence of Manchester United's Ji-Sung Park. North Korea is infamous for using all their manpower on defense and the case was no different tonight. But in the eighty-seventh minute, South Korea scored an exciting goal to win 1-0. A nice experience for me and a wonderful way to spend my day off.