Korea Korea!

Hi all!

Well, I didn't go to the movie. Instead, a few friends and I shocked the more conservative Americans by deciding to hop on the tube and see where adventure would lead us. We changed 3 times! But never waited for more than 2 mins. And this at 8pm at night! How cool is this transport system! We ended up in Itaewon, the expat region, which we didn't really want to be in but I'm glad we went, so at least now we know to avoid it like the plague! We ended up in a pub that could have been back home. The only difference was that it was filled with American soldiers on the hunt for young Korean girls. It was a meat market! And they were so snooty and rude!

We eventually found another place, which was a little bit better, but still expat. That entire area, has everything Western - you can find Turkish, Chinese, Arab, etc, etc. There are even clothes for large Western people! We really wanted a Korean experience, so after walking the streets for a long while, we suddenly had to rush back to the subway, as the trains stop runnning at midnight. Well, we ended up back in our university area, and eventually found a little Korean nightclub. There were staff members outside and when they saw us, started shouting and smiling and waving us in. What a completely different reception from the 'homies'. The owner looked like a Japanese Mafia boss. He came in after us, stood at the bar with arms folded across his chest, as if to see how much money we were going to spend. (Whether that was actually the case, I don't know.... I'm just being dramatic, as usual!) Anyway, did we have a fun time! The Koreans all jumped up and started dancing with us! We couldn't really communicate all that well, but dance is the universal language, so no one minded too much. The Koreans are actually very shy people. But they are extremely warmhearted!

Well then: today, we had another long day. Went to the National Museum, which was sooooo smart! After that, the palace, which is like something out of a karate movie...stunning! Saw the changing of the guard, in full traditional costume, with weapons and all! Also saw the first new cherry blossoms! There's a cherry blossom festival next weekend. I'll try to go there, not sure if can still get tickets at this stage but that should not be missed!

After that, was a theatre performance, which should come to SA. It was fantastic. Called the COOKING NANTA. Physical comedy show with live cooking on stage, including ovens and fire! Vegetables being chopped karate-style, with cabbage and carrots, cucumber and onion flying all over the stage. Juggling of plates, Jackie Chan (using kitchen utensils) meets Jamie Oliver! Fight sequences using brooms as fighting sticks and kitchen whisks as nunchakas! Lovely story line, with lots of audience interaction. Cool music, most of which is made by the actors using kitchen utensils and KNIVES! For those of you who saw BOOTMEN or TAPDOGS (the Australian tapdancers), they did the same thing - only much better - with REAL KNIVES! It has already toured 27 countries, playing to something like 3,9 million people. The theatre today was packed! I don't know whether it's been to SA, but it definitely should!!! (Richard, I thought of you today...you would want to watch it everyday!)

Then we were treated to dinner at a very posh seafood restaurant - buffet! Sushi galore! (Arlene, you would have died and gone to heaven with the sushi variety here!) All kinds of local fish! Seafood lovers' heaven! And they had a chocolate fountain at the desserts table! (Again, the Koreans know how to look after people. Then again, family is very important to Koreans, and they adopt guests as family as well. Which is why, they will always be inviting people to dinner, or their homes, etc.) I am feeling EXTREMELY blessed here! Well, tomorrow we pack up and leave for our various regions and schools. I shall be at school on Tuesday, getting back to work. This short little 'holiday' has been great!

Ciao for now!

Love,

Andrea