A student of philosophy

Two days ago I took an express bus to Seoul with my eldest host sister Seo In; I was going to an art showing my friend and fellow ETA Billie was putting on in Hongdae, and Seo In was visiting her mother's cousin and investigating a couple universities in Seoul (Seo In will be starting her second-to-last year of high school in March). On the bus she told me that her cousin wanted to meet me; he was a university student about my age. He'd actually been in Suncheon the previous weekend, but I had been in Seoul then, too. When we reached the Express Bus Terminal in Seoul, it was 5:30 and he wouldn't be able to make it to meet her until 6. I had a little time to spare before the art show, and Seo In seemed sort of nervous about being left alone (her mother had insisted on buying my ticket from Suncheon to Seoul since I'd agreed to ride the same bus at Seo In), and so I hung out with her until the cousin arrived.

He was tall and friendly and eager to speak to me in English, though our conversation followed the usual path; him laughing and biting his fist in exasperation as he tried to form a sentence and me smiling and listening patiently, a little embarassed by how embarassed he was. He seemed very young to me, despite his height and earnestness. Then a friend of his from school showed up, a short, slope-shouldered young man in black-framed glasses and a plaid flannel who spoke English with confidence and completed the image of the universal college nerd when he informed me he was a physics major.

We rode the orange subway line several stops together; they had to transfer to the blue line to get to the musical they were attending, and I had to transfer to the green line to get to the Ewha/Hongdae area. During that time the cousin made more noble attempts to converse with me. I learned he was a philosophy major, 22 years old (Korean age). When I asked him if university was fun or difficult, he seemed stymied but allowed that it was "not fun." Then we encountered another linguistic roadblock as he tried to convey that he was currently on break from school. His Physics friend seemed be enjoying himself somewhat. He turned to me and said, "He is preparing to join the military right now," to which the cousin responded, "No, no no!" I was a little surprised by this reaction, knowing that all young men are required to serve in the military, getting drafted sometime during their university years, if they are students. Then the friend admitted that actually the cousin was against military service. I learned from the cousin himself that he was not going to serve in the military, which meant that he would have to go to prison. He struggled some more as he tried to express his ideology about it---he asked his friend to translate 'faith' for him, but finally he just said that in Europe young men had choices, they were not required to serve in the military. He asked me what it was like in the U.S. and I tried to explain. Above all, I was sympathetic to his situation and impressed that he was willing to go to prison for his beliefs---and surprised that there were no other recourses for him (that he couldn't sue his way out of it, or, as I believe they sometimes do in Israel, do community service of some kind instead). At that point his friend took the opportunity to inform me that he was planning on immigrating to the U.S. as soon as possible and wanted to know if I had any advice for him. He seemed disappointed when I had trouble coming up with any, so I asked him if he had any questions, and we ended up discussing whether or not he'd be able to get a job if he were a student in the U.S. Out of the corner of my eye I saw the cousin looking a bit shamefaced and rueful at the almost pointed overshadowing that was taking place.

When we parted ways the cousin told me that sometimes he comes to Suncheon, and I said I looked forward to seeing him again. My host sister also seemed a little sad that we wouldn't be able to hang out more in Seoul. I headed to Edae to meet a friend and we walked to the art show, which was taking place in a small, basement venue, with live music. A lot of people came, a number of ETAs as well as young Koreans. I was really impressed by Billie's artwork, not to mention her ability to pull this sort of event together as a foreigner. On Saturday I spent a couple hours visiting travel agencies trying to see if I could get a cheap last minute ticket to Tokyo or Osaka, but apparently the idea came to me a little too late, as all the flights were booked. I also paid a visit to the art museum at the Seoul Arts Center, a special exhibit of European paintings, a sort of retrospective. They had a number of pieces on loan from prominent European museums, and I saw some famous works--Monet, a couple Picassos, a lot of Gauguin, some Matisses and "The Death of Marat." I enjoyed the exhibit, though it was pretty crowded since it was Saturday, and there was more than one noisy child (one took a swipe at a museum employee who tried to give him his shoe which had fallen off). That afternoon I caught a bus back and arrived in Suncheon around 9 pm, and went to bed early.

This afternoon I had a conversation with my host mother about her cousin. It turns out he is the son of her uncle who was released from prison last year (he's now at a university in the U.S. as a visiting researcher---the one who taught me how to sit cross-legged in "Chuseok"). The family is pretty worried by the cousin's decision to go to prison instead of serve in the military, because it will make it very difficult for him to get a good job (though I guess if you're a well-established academic it doesn't hold you back much). Apparently the family wants the cousin to study abroad (maybe this exempts him from military service?), but he isn't interested. I got the impression the uncle was a bit consternated by his son's decision, and his involvement in the labor movement, though my host mother noted that her uncle was also a student activist against the dicatorship that ruled Korea under the guise of a democracy not so long ago. My host mother said that since Korea has a shrinking population, the military requirement is particularly serious. When I asked her, If North and South Korea unified, would military service still be required? she responded, "But China!" Looking at Korea's history, its current relationship with China, and the fear many have of Communism, I can understand why the country is constantly on the military defensive, but it's so different from what I'm used---I have to remind myself that the U.S.'s military program, the program of a country with a dense population and all kinds of missiles and bombs to protect itself, can't possibly be the norm.

On Tuesday I head to Busan to catch an overnight ferry to Osaka. I'll be meeting Elliot in Kyoto and then taking a bus to Tokyo for a few days. I might get a chance to write here, but Elliot and his friend Vince also have a travel blog going---you can read it at www.elliotlevin.com.

Happy Valentine's Day

My four days in Seoul were a lot of fun. As soon as I arrived in the bus terminal in Seoul I took the subway to the World Cup Stadium to meet a number of ETA friends and watch the Asia Qualifiers match between South Korea and Kuwait. I was pretty excited. Being able to see a World Cup qualifying match seems like an opportunity that doesn't arise too often. Even though it was the Lunar New Year (which I think accounted for the number of empty seats) the subway cars were still packed. When I transferred to the brown line I had to squeeze myself into a packed car. This prompted appalled gasps from the passengers already there, who seemed to doubt the capacity of the train. When the train started up, I felt the forward motion from the numerous people pushed against me before I felt it under my feet.

It was cold of course (too cold for the Kuwaitis, to which some attribute their poor playing that night), but the audience was enthusiastic. Many red shirts in the cheering section behind one of the goals. Every few minutes they started on a different song/cheer. There were also drummers. I think the most impressive part was the fact that there was a stadium-wide wave that circled three full times. Even the upper decks participated. Korea won 2-0 and as I ran to the bathroom to beat the crush of people, I saw others running out the exits, I'm guessing to get on the train early, and fireworks exploded in the air over the parking lots.

On Thursday Rachel, her friend Taejun and I went to the National Folk Museum to try to see some Lunar New Year events. My experience at the museum combined with my experience getting a bus to Seoul from Suncheon (I had to wait over two hours for a bus with space) leads me to believe that the old adage that Seoul becomes a ghost-town during the holidays of Chuseok and the Lunar New Year is out-dated. I've read that more people are taking advantage of the holidays to travel, rather than traditionally going to their hometowns in the country. Or maybe more families live in Seoul than used to. The museums had free admission that day and the place was completely packed. There was a performance going on but too many people were standing around it to get a good look. We stayed there for a short period and then went to the Seoul Selection bookstore, because I was hoping to sell or trade a few paperbacks I'd brought with me. Seoul Selection is a cozy little bookstore, expat-oriented, with cheap used books and also a collection of movies for sale. We had tea there and I made a successful swap: a collection of short stories by Sherwood Anderson, Orient Express by Graham Greene and The Oldest Living Confederate Widow Tells All--a book which I don't know much about but I hear is good (it's length made it a good trade).

In Seoul I experienced the same problem I had in Malaysia, sort of inverse (I hope it doesn't plague me in Tokyo later this month as well). When you're outside even for a relatively short period of time, it's so cold that you just want to go home, so each day we only spent a little time actually doing things. I got to see friends almost every evening though, which was nice. Friday Rachel and I went clothes shopping in Edae (the neighborhood of Ewha Women's University) and Saturday Rachel had some stuff to take care of so I ended up just sitting in my room in the guest house watching television for too many hours. I sort of regret it, mostly because later I realized there were actually a couple of museum exhibits I'd wanted to see, but on the other hand it was sort of refreshing to watch TV for awhile--I spend so much time back in Suncheon feeling bored or reading, it was a nice substitute. There's almost always an American movie playing on Korean television, though usually it's some action flick featuring Jean Claude Van Damme.

Sunday Rachel headed back to Gochang pretty early, but not before a quick trip to Krispy Kreme, where they always have free donuts to sample. Apparently it's the first Krispy Kreme store in Asia. It was smaller than I was expecting, but it makes sense. Seoul is so dense, it doesn't have room for the big-box store strip malls like 82nd street in Portland, where the only other Krispy Kreme I've been to is located, near a Home Depot and a Circuit City. The guest house we'd stayed at was nice, we were fed two meals a day and the ajumma who cooked for us and the other boarders, almost exclusively Japanese students, were kind and friendly. In Seoul I find I usually get mistaken for a student, whereas in Suncheon everyone knows/assumes I am a teacher (for obvious reasons, I guess). One morning when we were eating kimbap and mandu guk (we'd missed breakfast at the guesthouse) a man sitting at the table next to us complimented me on my chopstick abilities, and I explained that I'd lived in Korea for 7 months. He asked if I was a student and when I corrected him he apologized. It was sort of funny to me that he apologized, since I'm certainly the age of most university students in Korea. But his reaction reinforced my impression that teachers are pretty highly regarded in Korea in general, so to be mistaken for a student instead might seem disrespectful.

Matthias's girlfriend Daniella was in town and she was interested in visiting a Korean bathhouse before she flew to Thailand today, so on Sunday I met up with her in the late morning and we went to a bathhouse in Edae I'd been to before. It was nice to sit in the hot tubs, though I usually find the cold tub too cold and the saunas are so hot and dry I feel like I can barely breathe. I appreciated the sauna more that day, you do feel refreshed once you step out, so maybe it takes practice. Afterwards we got lunch and then I went to the express bus terminal. I'll be back in Seoul next weekend, for Billie's art show on the 18th, which should be awesome.

I got home at 8 pm; luckily the family was eating dinner late and I got to eat with them. I've found, with some disappointment, that upon returning from a trip, whether domestic or international, I never really find myself feeling relieved or excited to be returning. Sometimes I even sort of dread it, not because I don't get along with my host family, but that I just find living in a homestay sort of mildly trying most of the time. But, the point I'm getting to is that even though I never look forward to returning home, I'm always received so warmly by everyone, that immediately any disappointment at having to come back disappears, and I feel like I really am very lucky. Last night the family seemed particularly relaxed, and it was a nice atmosphere to return to. I had a little wine with my host parents and they told me about what had gone on in Suncheon while I was gone (the pet rabbit was moved to grandmother's house in the country; there was a demonstration about middle school student placements by angry parents). Today I woke up late and have slipped pretty quickly into my routine of sitting around reading. Though I did leave the house to buy some Valentine's Day treats for my host sisters.

Lunar New Year

Today's the Lunar New Year in Korea. Similar to Chuseok, everyone heads to the country to visit their extended family. Unlike Chuseok I decided this time to hit the road, because as much as I wish it were otherwise, I get pretty bored at Lee family gatherings. The food is really good, but it mostly involves conversation I can't participate in and the kids fighting over the television. The kids have already left to go over to their grandparents' house. Right now they are probably dressed in their traditional hanbok and offering their grandparents money, which seems to be the focal point of the holiday. They're probably also eating rice cake soup for breakfast. I'd actually like to be over there viewing and participating in that part (I really like that rice cake soup), but I want to get going as soon as possible, and all the cousins in the house made it difficult to get in the shower in time to go with them.

So I'm eating peanut butter toast and finishing my hot choco before I get going. I'm staying with Rachel at a guesthouse for four nights. I should be hanging out with Matthias some, and hopefully Billie and Bonnie. Billie's really busy right now though, she has a solo art show she's putting on two weekends from now. That takes dedication, to put together an art show for yourself in a foreign country. I can't wait to see it. Oh, and I have been writing some, but not enough. I reread a couple of my favorite short story collections for some inspiration.

Yet another relative of a teacher at my school has died. That makes six deaths this semester, almost one for every month I've been in Suncheon (and one wedding). Sure, 20-30 bucks a month is a small price to pay for how much teachers appreciate it when I show up and make my donation, but it's starting to add up (I think maybe the sort of cavalier Korean attitude about death is also starting to rub off). I'll be in Seoul this time, when the funeral at the hospital takes place, so my host mother said that I didn't have to worry about it. She also said I probably didn't need to come to the most recent funeral, which was only a week or so ago, but that just happened to be the day I decided to come into school to organize my desk for the inevitable move this semester. If I wasn't going to Seoul I think I would go, but still, it's a little uncanny how many parents and in-laws of teachers at my school have died this year.

Not much

So looks like I won't be visiting the states until July. I didn't get the in-person second-round interview with Green Corps (for the best, I think, or thought almost immediately after I finished the first interview), so I won't be heading home this month. I just applied for another job, as a writer for PIRG in Boston. It'd be cool if I end up doing writing, working for a non-profit---two things I want to do as a career but didn't expect I'd be able to combine.

It's cold here, and yesterday we had the most snow Suncheon has seen all winter, a few inches of powder. Thus I haven't been going outside much, though I think we may be going either sledding or ice-skating this weekend. I saw "A Series of Unfortunate Events" with my host family last weekend, and now my middle host sister has developed a crush on Liam Aiken ("Klaus"). The movie was pretty good, I actually had high expectations. It had really nice visuals. I haven't read the books, but I saw the author give a speech at the anniversary of the City Lights Bookstore last year (I think it was?). He was pretty funny.

So my days inside have been consumed by occasional visits to the internet to contemplate life after Fulbright, and mostly by reading "David Copperfield." If you haven't read it, I really recommend it. Don't be daunted by the 700-plus pages. I can understand why Dickens called it his favorite work. And it has hands down the best description of being drunk that I've ever read (not that I've read many descriptions of that---but I didn't know Dickens could be so funny.).

My host mother just handed me a "traditional Korean snack." It's interesting how many things are introduced to me prefaced with "traditional Korean."