Monday, October 30, 2006

Tedious Reverie

Fantasies are great ; they keep you company. They tuck you in at night. They distract you when you are bored. They make real life much more entertaining.

They give you hope when the world is nothing but a big disappointment.

They create perfect people and improve those you already know.

Fantasies keep you going when you don’t even believe in yourself anymore. They give you faith – faith in you, faith in the world.

They never let you down, bringing you exactly what you’re looking for.

They’re always there for you whenever you need them – a comfy, cozy place you take refuge in.

It’s free, it’s fun, and it’s passionate and so perfect.

And then comes the soreness.

The dreadful feeling of helplessness when you face the fact that you will never encounter such situations.

That some of those people may physically exist, but they’ll just never meet your expectations.

And the ones you’ve created in your dreams, you will never meet them.

The fall is brutal. You were flying like a bird and it kept taking you higher and higher in the sky.

Your head was comfortably lying on a cloud, the sun kindly warming you.

Then before you could even realize it, you were falling. Falling.

Everything became cold. Unfamiliar. Imperfect.

Disappointment comes in but what can you do? You are helpless.

Is this the fate of dreamers? Or are we all just masochist?

Why not stop it? Because it feels so good up there, out of reach!


Travel Blogs - Blog Top Sites

Tuesday, October 24, 2006

The Devil Wears Prada

The last time I went to the movies was back home last June and I saw "The DaVinci Code" with my best friend. Before that, I had spent a year in France and not even step foot in a movie theatre. Well, except in London where Annabella and I saw "Memoirs of a Geisha" (great movie by the way)

The point is that as a kid, I used to be addicted to the big screen but, fortunately, I ain't anymore.

I came to that conclusion 2 days ago, sitting in comfy seats, shamelessly eating popcorn and chocolate while watching "The Devil Wears Prada"... not the best choice for my big come back ;)


Without Meryl Streep, this movie would totally fall apart. Yes, I get it: it's one of those movies whose sole purpose is to entertain us but... come on!
Anyway, it's a light and funny movie. It also sends a wonderful message to everyone - wearing a size 6 is shameful. In the end, the former ugly and fashionless secretary gladly says that she's now a 4. Bravo!

As for fashion, I must admit that it is well done!! Then again, Streep does a great job portraying this evil fashion magazine boss.

Movie theatres in Korea are great. They don't compare to our AMC Forum movie theatre back in Montreal.... but they're pretty comfy and I wasn't in the most Jetset one anyway.

The genius thing here is that you can buy your tickets in advance and chose your seats!! So you can show up pretty late and still have the best seat in the place!

The food portions are also much smaller than back in America. No way you can get the jumbo-full-of-greasy-butter popcorns. Smart as can be, the soda glasses have room for two straws (as opposed to one big hole where you put both straws) - meaning that even a decent Coke Zero cannot be fully consumed by only one person.

Saturday, October 21, 2006

Where is my mind?

Hey instead of whining why didn't I just watch those clips?
Check them out, you will laugh your head off!!!!



SNL Parody "Message from President Bush" here

SNL Parody "Bush on Global Warming" here

SNL "More Cowbell" here



Here's some Ellen

The nun in Will and Grace here

Elevator Dance here

"My bras is in my ass" here



SNL Jim Carey's workout here


And this hilarious French parody starring Marc Labreche right here (really funny but you gota understand French of course) Seriously, this one's a MUST!
Speaking of French, Nic made me discover some real Quebecois stuff that's totally fun to watch. Called Les Tetes a Claques - "On sort", "Le Pilote" and "Les Grenouilles" are really good!!




Btw, Alec Baldwin and Tina Fey are on NBC's "30 Rock", apparently quite comical.

What A Difference A Day Makes

Twenty four little hours
Brought the sun and the flowers
Where there used to be rain


Rainy Sunday. I love rain so much. It smells good. It feels good.

As usual, disturbing echoes of some random rock music reach my 15th floor window. It's like they're having a rock concert every Sunday morning...

Hung over. On my week. Not beer.

Mom called, she was worried. Friends called. Friends wrote. Where the hell are you?

I haven't slept all week. Grading midterms, diaries, book reports, filling out midterms reports, preparing for my open classes next week and the Halloween party at school... I'll be a witch in the haunted house!!

Spent a lot of time with Nicolas. There's a beautiful "man made" river in Seoul - Cheonggyecheon . At night, blue lights light up rocks lying in the water. There are waterfalls too. Nice restaurants too. Laughter over Saturday Night Live too. Guitar too. Now he's back in L.A.



What if? What if I died tomorrow? Seriously, so what? I can't even figure out the meaning of life so it would spare me pretty disturbing questions.

My whole head is filled with questions. Maybe Jigsaw was right, it's just the blatant emptiness of our mundane existence. I keep my mind busy with friends, nights out and the usual but when I actually stop for a moment, it occurs to me that my life is pointless.

Isn't it totally selfish to look after our own happiness? Or, worst, to work so hard at being happy when the world is filled with such devastation? How can time go by so fast, so slowly.

A life spent looking after the weaker, helping the helpless, giving to the needy, listening to the sad, talking to the lonely - where will that leave me in the end? A sense of accomplishment, of satisfaction? What if it doesn't matter whether you are totally selfish or selfless?

I look at my grandmother. She's old and bitter. Yet she has lived a full life and has the biggest heart you could ever imagine. When she smiles she’s as radiant as the sun. She is generous and full of kindness. She's traveled the world and never gave up on anyone - even the cruellest person had to have something good in her.

As a kid, I was a total spoiled brat. When I think about it today (and teaching to kids help me see that), I am soooooo ashamed of myself! The things's i've said, the attitude, oh my! But grandma never gave up on me. Neither did she on my brother and sister. Of course she's not a saint, but I really admire her.

Even in her late 70s she was the head of a community group defending the rights of old people (getting easily abused in retirement homes) and she learned how to use the computer. Granted, the concept has not entirely blossomed in her mind but she still talks to me on MSN.

Anyway, the point is that she is wonderful. And now that she's old and needs others, she is bitter. It seems like all those years she gave and gave while probably unconsciously hoping for something in return. Not immediately, but at least when she'd be old and needy like she is today. Yet it hasn't come. Well, not in the way she'd want it.

She's frustrated because she can't do everything she used to do. Independence is just a vague concept that she once fully enjoyed. The days go by, she reads, gossips with old ladies, hangs out with her new boyfriend, goes for walks and writes. And then what?

I'm trying now. Really hard. Life has been amazingly good to me and I always think there's gotta be something bad coming up. Where's the black cloud?

But if that is true, then it means that everything is planned. I refused to believe in predestination - otherwise what would be the point of living if everything is already planned in advance? What about free will? What kind of sick almighty would just sit and watch what would appear like a TV show? If everything is meant to be, then why not spare me the time and energy of performing my role as a human being?

I'd like to be up there and watch the whole world. Busy people, arrogant losers, millionaires that think they own the universe, penniless families struggling to survive, lost souls wondering when this will all end.

It's so tiring. I grew up with mind games and a lack of reasoning. I still resent the pointless struggles, the pain of seeing someone deeply hating my grandma. We all experienced the fear of rejection, the insecurity and the mask that we put on to be like the other kids. Then we grow up and want to believe that the world has changed. We're adults and tired of those mind games.

But I realize more and more that this whole world is fake. This hypocritical world where everybody lies (including me of course) Are we going to answer “you’re hopeless” to a students who failed a test and asked you if he will ever get it?

I want to trust, to believe that there's a good heart in everyone. But I recently discovered that sometimes it's not worth wasting all my energy looking for the good side of what turns out to be evil. And that's ok.

I really hate myself for who I’ve been, what I’ve done, and how completely humane (thus normal) I still am. I guess we're not perfect and that's ok too.



Travel Blogs - Blog Top Sites

Saturday, October 14, 2006

Shake Your Tailfeather!

Right now my brain is numb, but i'm just so happy! I woke up with the sun, only 4 hours of sleep and yet i'm surprisingly upbeat.


Last night was awesome. And the night before as well. Some coworkers had been asking us to go out with them for a while and, for some reason we never had.

I was really tired and went for Sushi with Twyla, where we finally decided we should all go. Wasn't in the mood, but you know how it's like; once you're there...

So a whole bunch of girls met in this awesome lounge for martinis - our feet in the sand! I forgot the name of the place but it's in Itaewon, on a second floor, great concept and they serve apple martinis! Oooooh!

Then we headed to a bar where we had a couple of drinks as well. Fun.


As for the rest of the night, we ended up in Hongdae, Tinpan again!

By the way, some very enlightened and anonymous (of course) person left a comment saying I shouldn't go there if I don't want to see foreigners. While I admire the unbelievable cleverness of this life changing comment, I think he/she should read the post again. I said I hate those who ruin it for everyone by being drunk and stupid - and it turns out that most of the time they're foreigners. Koreans usually pass out before they have time to misbehave ;)


Anyway. I had the greatest night. The girls turned out to be fun and we danced like crazy!! Well I did anyway, while some friends were totally drunk and other were sticking their tounge down a guy's throat to finally say "ok bye!" at 4am.

We had some really cool drinks - right down the street they are selling pina coladas in a ziploc kinda thing and you drink it with a straw. Awesome!


As it turns out, nobody ruined it for no one last night. I met great people, great dancers, hilarious guys, it was just refreshing! I even spoke with a Korean guy who speaks... Spanish!! It was awesome, I spoke my two favorite languages in a bar in Seoul!!

We also bumbed into a group of our male co-workers, but they were just standing there, lined against the wall, drinking.


And i'm forever thankful for having met this journalist - totally cute and smart by the way - who spent the night with us. First of all because he dances!!! And because we spoke French; a first for me in Seoul. Moreover, he didn't punch any guys in the face just becuase they were looking at me so that was good ;)

But of course, in Itaewon there were the usual assholes literally harassing Korean girls to get them into bed. Pathetic. Especially since we saw that around 10pm! And those 30 something that scream and fight on the street, just like college boys... what's up with that?!

Still a mystery. We ended up eating spicy bulgogi (marinated beef with vegetables) and finally went home around 4:30.

Great. Now i'll need at least 2 days to recover!!!!!!
Travel Blogs - Blog Top Sites

Wednesday, October 11, 2006

Permanent daylight

I know, I hadn't posted the pictures of Jeju island but I just did right here. Apparently the link on my previous post doesn't work...???

Oh yeah and just food for thought - seems like the situation is escalating with North Korea. Arms race in the Asian region? South Korea said they'd definitely build up their arsenal if the North is proven to have nuclear weapons. As for the the North, it said it will give physical response if the US continues to pressure them (which would be considered an act of war) Great. Way to go.

Here's a thought - every new possibility in our existence, even the least probable one, transforms our entire existence.

Careful where your imagination takes you...
Travel Blogs - Blog Top Sites

Two in one goes

October 11th

Last year as I walked in a crappy underground music store in Barcelona at night, I heard this song and totally fell in love with Jimmy Hendrix. Ironic that I would discover black blues music in the land of sexy latino vibes but... that's yet another one of life's wonderful ironies!

Another irony might be to see Donald Trump's tower in Seoul, and the next minute come face to face to a pig's head in a filthy street market. What are the chances?

Look at it, so greasy and dead. They just boiled it. Disgusting.


Or to wonder: if we were to search a dog's brain here in Korea, would it be the same as my (late) invincible puppy back home? How about pigeons?

And why did Korean Burger King feel the need to put TVs for its costumers waiting in line?! Are we so damn stupid that we can’t even think when we’re waiting to order big fat fries and burgers??

As for the current political crisis, are we close to the predicted apocalypse? Because, to be totally honest, since my last post things have changed in South Korea. Attitudes changed. Despite the government’s efforts to calm everyone down, people are getting scared.

And I just learned that I will have to work overtime for the Halloween party, even coming in on a Saturday. You really gotta love the kids.

Last night we stayed up late talking avec l’appero. I was pleasantly surprised to be up with the sun this morning. A first in about… 3 months?

I’m really in the mood.

The mood for love. Chocolate. Sex. Passion. Learning. Teaching. Joining a gym. Kimchi Jiggae. Laughing. Crying. Buddha. Hiking.

I wanna listen to some good jazz. Play my guitar. Find a piano.

I’m in the mood to wake up, to emerge from a long tiresome dream and become a person again.

I’m in the mood for the fall season, the smell of rain and the colorful leaves soliciting all my senses. The smell of wet earth.

But most of all, I’m in the mood for… slow. Kundera’s “La lenteur” wasn’t his best work, but it really made me think about slowing down. Taking my time. Chillin’ out dude!

What’s the hurry? We’ll all end up old, wrinkled, amnesiac and barely able to walk from our bed to the living room. And all we’ll remember then is all those tiny flashbacks that don’t really mean anything because we never took the time to entirely savour the moment.

I’d rather have 5 intense memories than a hundred of incomplete ones.

What’s the hurry?

Even the way we tell history… Kundera gives this great analogy with a Beethoven symphony.

It’s like we would have this big concert where we’d present Beethoven’s 138 opuses – but, because of time constraint, just playing the 8 first measures of each opus.

10 years later, the same concert might only play the first note – hence 138 notes played as one melody.

And 20 years after, Beethoven would only remain as a very long and shrill note. That would be our history.

That’s without mentioning the countless modifications and interpretations that change the whole symphony from its original form.

My big brother, whom I adore, and who is now working for an NGO in Thailand, told me about this Chinese proverb that I find quite clever. “La vie est un pont; n’y construis pas ta maison” – Life’s only a bridge so don’t build a house on it.

I finally got the pictures from the paradise island we went to in August. I’ve posted tons of them so give yourself a moment to daydream about Jejudo. They’re really nice and funny too. Click here, it’s in August “another day in paradise”

Hey I still haven’t found the meaning of life.

But this view is pretty worth living for… twas when we got haircut at this jet set salon


Sunday, October 08, 2006

The North Korean Threat

October 9th

The nuclear weapon that North Korea intends to detonate in an underground test is scary. As it turns out, the missile could reach Seoul or Tokyo and kill over 200 000 people.

Apparently, NK’s Dictator Kim Jong Il gives the United States 3 months to lift its economic sanctions on the country. If Bush refuses, then North Korea will carry on with the test.

Apparently everyone in the world is freaking out over North Korea’s nuclear threat – everyone, except its closest neighbour, South Korea.

I thought I could give y’all a little perspective concerning the situation and perception that I get from living in Seoul.

First of all, what do South Koreans think of the Communist North?

They basically hate Kim Jong-Il, but they feel for the citizens. Most Koreans hope for a reunification – even my students write about it in their weekly English diary.

An interesting thing is that when Koreans draw a map of their country, they draw both North and South and then make the divisive line. It kinda feels like the separation is not permanent in their mind; they hope things will change.

Do Koreans talk about North Koreans at all then?

Totally. They even give North Korea’s weather on the news (even though no South Korean is allowed there, except in specific mountains)!

Years ago there was this TV show which showed the reunification of Korean families that had been divided during the Korean War.

As it turns out, thousands of families are still separated between North and South.

North Koreans still try to cross the border. Lately people were found half dead – thirsty, hungry, ripped clothes. It’s a difficult issue for the Korean government because they see North Koreans as brothers, but the relation with the government is highly tensed and unstable.

Some of you might wonder if Seoul agrees with Pyongyang’s nuclear tests?

Absolutely NOT! The only countries that could agree with such stupid Communist power trip might be China and Russia. But even China now thinks this is a bad idea.

As for the South Korean population, do they fear that a nuclear attack from the North?

From what I know, people are divided on that question. But most of them don’t because the North has threatened so many times to attack its neighbour that it is just not credible anymore.

Moreover, the US is South Korea’s ally so should something happen, the North would automatically get in real trouble.

South Koreans are just sick of North Korea's actions and many say they do not care.
North Korea has totally isolated itself and all attempts at friendship have had no effect so people think there should be a stricter policy against the state.

But then, you ask, why the heck does the North threatens if they are so small and insufferable?

Well, everyone in North Korea is brainwashed. As a result, it has a great, strong and loyal army. And it is still a Communist country so the rest of the world keeps a close watch on them.


Moreover, Dictator Kim Jong Il keeps his people in poverty and misery – thus humanitarian organizations such as Human Rights Watch actively denounce the political regime.

As you probably know, the US is quite concerned with the spread of human rights and democracy (apparently the reason why they invaded Iraq…) so they keep trying to interfere with internal affairs in the North Korean government. And it deeply annoys North Korea.

All North Korea wants is to be left alone while, of course, enjoying international aid. Because, unlike Cuba (which is trying to be self sufficient and kinda manages to survive), their local economy is not good at all; they highly rely on aid.

After they shot the last missile in July, economic sanctions were imposed. But all it does is put the country in greater misery. So is there really a solution? And do they actually have nuclear power anyway?

Well, they are proliferators of nuclear energy.

And in 1998, they shot a missile that went over Japan and crashed in the sea. Just like it did last summer.

Given, Japan is not that far. But it is believed that a North Korean missile could reach the West coast of the United States.

So again, why would they do that?

Like his late father Kim Il Sung (who was mourned for days by North Koreans by the way), Kim Jong Il is hung up on his height (awfully short) and is a power freak. He’s like a little boy playing GI Joe.

So he wants to show his superiority. But he also wants to scare the world so they stay out of his internal affairs. That’s basically all I know.

As for Korea itself, some of you wonder why it is divided. So here’s what I understand and feel free to correct me.

Korea has been under Japanese occupation for a long time. Japan annexed (well invaded) the peninsula in 1910 and ruled it for over 30 years. They destroyed many monuments, buildings, houses and they forced Korean people to take Japanese names and to speak only Japanese. 30 years.

Then WWII ended and Japan surrendered. The USSR invaded the Northern part while the US later came to the South. From then on, unification was not possible.

In 1950, the North invaded the South. That’s Korean War, a useless (well, are there any useful wars, really?) combat during which a lot of people were killed, wounded, and families were separated. An ideological war between Democracy (south/US) and Communism (North/Soviets). It ended in 1953.

And here are the devastating results (see wikipedia ):
- 600,000 Korean soldiers died in the conflict according to U.S. estimates.

- More than a million South Koreans were killed, 85% of them civilians.

- According to figures published in the Soviet Union, 11.1% of the total population of North –

- Korea died, which indicates that around 1,130,000 people were killed.

- The total casualties were about 2,500,000.

- More than 80% of the industrial and public facilities and transportation infrastructure, three-quarters of all government buildings, and half of all housing was destroyed.

You should see South Korea today... they've really come a long way and I totally admire them!

Now, here's a good one:


Travel Blogs - Blog Top Sites

I read the news today

October 8th

After a few days of breathing fresh air at the beach (and the mountain... where I probably left my lungs), I woke up this morning with a horrible impression of hangover. I guess I over-slept.


Down the streets some Green Day was playing and I could hear it from my 15th floor. Nice. "Don't wanna be an American Idiot"!

Having not read the news in a while, I browsed the web in order to catch up, wondering how come I hadn't kept myself informed for the past couple of week. After all, I was a political science student at McGill!



Now I know why I didn't.


Basically, the world is messed up. It's a sad sad world. Everyone's fighting, dying, afraid, threatening, crying, consuming like pigs, destroying the earth... like Jack Johnson sings, "it's such a crying shame"


I still don't get it. And I could bug you with existential questions but i'll give y'all a break.


Here's to make y'all laugh - it is called "the clear link"

Hiking and beachin’ for Choseok

October 7th

I finally found a plane ticket for Thailand and believe you me, I was pretty excited!

During the process of booking it, I went on a weather website to brag about how hot and sunny it would be… and I discovered that coming week in Phuket was going to be heavily raining with thunderstorms.

So no Thailand.

Instead, I took a 5 hours bus ride to the East Coast – where there exists yet another paradise.



I quickly found a hotel, which was 40 000 won/night (quite reasonable for holiday season), 2 mins walk from the bus station, 5 mins walk from the beach and 15 mins bus ride from the most beautiful mountain I have ever seen.

The guy at the reception is totally adorable and the rooms are pretty ok.

As for the beach… man oh man! I was really happy to see the ocean, to taste it, to feel it, to smell it.

Ironically, Sokcho is an easy gate to South Korea for the Communist North so you can see barbed wire and military points along the beach.

It is quite impressive because from afar, it seems like soldiers are pointing a gun at you. Up-close, they're just dummies.

I tried to imagine what it must have been like, posted in those awfully small wooden boxes, waiting, being cold, feeling lonely, a gun to keep you company. Watching in case someone might try to cross the border. I find it pretty inhuman... they were like dogs.

On the beach I found interesting stuff – notably a tv and a small bench.

As any piece of land in Korea, the beach was crowded with Korean families. They seemed happy. They always do.

Older people are very energetic; they handle everything! Kids are playful and cheerful. Fathers seem bored while watching their kids and wife having fun together. Couples are romantic – Koreans are the most romantic people I have ever seen.

I spent time there walking, exploring, reading, even grading some exams!

As for the mountain, a picture is worth a thousand words so see for yourself.


And you find a lot of Buddhist stuff – temples, statues, etc.

Seoraksan is HUGE and beautiful. There are hotels nearby but they are incredibly expensive. If you want, you can spend the night in the mountain at a shelter (about 5-10 000 won).

Admission fee is 3 400 won and you will get harassed by people for the first hour – trying to sell you food and useless things.

And for the first hour or so, you basically line up in the path. There are so many people there!

After the first hour, I thought most people would fall behind. Well, the big families did, but certainly not the rest of them.

I was soooooo impressed! I hiked for about 6 hours straight and kept meeting people – but not just young people; OLD PEOPLE too! The roads were stiff and difficult, those people are so stubborn!!

I never reached the top because apparently it takes 10 hours, but I did enjoy beautiful views. It kinda bumped me out because for me the reward when you hike is the final view the summit. So it seemed a little pointless. But anyway. An old man offered me a cucumber (yes!) and it made me smile.

The point is that on my way down (I came back before sunset wouhou!) I met several people and I have no idea how they got there. 5 hours walk from the ticket booth, old men and women, painfully walking. Kids seemed exhausted.

But also energetic ajumas and ajashis, excited families, teenagers in love… I was stunned!

Moreover, and this is actually quite interesting, their outfit could feed an entire social study.

Older people are dressed quite sportive. They have the style haha Mainly North Face – the shoes, the pants, the dryfit t-shirt, the hat, the stick, the backpack, sunglasses, everything.

Oh and the GLOVES!! Oh the gloves! They are white, sometimes with shades of green or pink, and soooo popular here! Everybody uses them – for moving stuff, driving a car or bus, picking up trash, hiking, carrying something, anything really!

As for younger people, they so don’t dress up for climbing! They wear Converse and jeans. No backpack, no walk stick, nothing. Not even water. And they’re so fast!

What I’ve seen in Seoraksan totally shows that Koreans are in really good shape – and the reason for that is because they exercise quite a lot! Even in Seoul, if you go hiking during the week-end, mountains are packed.

I guess they’re healthy because they eat healthy too (so many vegetables with every meal – especially kimchi, which some people say they don’t feel the same if they haven’t had with a meal!!), and they live healthy (exercise a lot instead of being a couch potato).

Every time you go out in the streets, they are filled with people. Koreans prefer staying outside rather than inside. And since they work so hard and such long hours, they cherish every moment they can spend with their family.

I had to come back on Saturday because I was told there would be traffic jam on Sunday. Wrong. I spent 6 hours in the damn bus, stuck in traffic, it was awful! Then another hour on the subway… I already miss Sokcho.

The mountain felt like you could just lay there, it looked like a big comfy bed!

There were nice waterfalls. And the colors, although it was early in the season, were breathtaking. On my way down I actually thought they had changed while I was climbing. That’s how fast seasons change ;)









Travel Blogs - Blog Top Sites

Saturday, October 07, 2006

Foreign losers in Seoul

Parental advisory: explicit post ;)
October 1st

I’m a foreigner. A Canadian foreigner. But I try very hard to assimilate the Korean culture because
1. I love it
2. I think it’s a very clever one
3. I’m a foreigner! (thus this isn’t my homeland and I have everything to learn here)

So when I see total assholes acting like the world’s worst dickheads, I get a little mad. It’s just me.

In Seoul, the three main "foreign social groups" are either tourists, English teachers or American soldiers. The rest are businesspeople, soldiers’ wives, humanitarian workers, Jesus freaks, etc.

The soldiers are working at the border and they come out in Hongdae during the week-end to have a good time. From what I heard, not so many people like them since they get drunk, get into fights and try to get it on with Korean girls.

As for tourists, there are some very nice and genuine people that come here to discover this magnificent culture. But some also are men looking for cheap Asian whores, or groups of twenty-something guys and girls who go totally nuts because they are away from home.

As for English teachers, they are a little more responsible but not that much. As it turns out, we get paid pretty well, don’t pay rent and our schedule is pretty good – thus we can have a looooot of fun if we want to. Actually one of my colleague got topless in a bar a couple of weeks ago and she doesn’t even remember it. Another one sleeps with different guys every week. It’s totally up to you.

But after what happened last Friday, I’m really worried about the impact of foreigners in Korea.

When I was young (well, younger ;), I totally lived my youth to the max. No regrets back then, though now not so sure what I did was so “cool”. And I really wonder what this is all about… really? Ok let me get to the point.

So we were dancing in Tinpan – chicks stripping on the tables, guys drinking and staring at girls, people on stage dirty dancing, the usual. Suddenly I felt cold beer on my arm and back. It actually felt really nice because I was getting hot – but I noticed that everyone was staring at A.

Apparently a completely drunk white girl had thrown a glass of beer at her. Everyone was shocked, but the girl didn’t even seem to notice.

An hour later or so, we left for another bar. I bumped into the girl outside and she didn’t look good. I told her I was all covered in beer because of her and she looked deeply sorry. The poor girl, I’m sure she was more than drunk (probably drugs). She hugged me and I told her to be careful cauz… well she could so easily get raped, overdosed, whatever.

As me and V left, we heard the guy who was with her call us sluts. Hahaha us? Sluts?! It was too hilarious. But V didn’t take it well and so, as regular drunken chicks, we went back in. The guy was totally stupid and I realized it wasn’t even worth fighting for it (well, Jang Ho was the one who wanted to fight).

The reason I cared was because I know how much trouble people can get into when they’re drunk, or under the influence of drugs. If you’re a girl, it’s even worst and much more dangerous. And that girl was clearly not ok.

But then I realized that it’s not my problem, and so we left.

That’s when it hit me. Everyday people struggle to get food, shelter, clothes, etc. And we… we get drunk, insult each other, fight, dance like horny bitches, what the heck?!

Please note here that I do not want to generalize. A lot of people do have great decency when they go out and they have a good time, don’t hump everything that moves and don’t insult the whole world. But I want to focus on the losers that ruin it for everyone.

The other day my friend and I were about to cross a street (the light was green) when a scooter almost hit us. The guy, an American, was with a Korean girl and he jumped the red lights full speed. You know what he had the nerve to yell at us?! “Look bitches!”

I’m sorry, but those pathetic losers are a true plague for the Korean society. They act like they own the world, they spread chaos and don’t bring anything good here. Moreover, Korean kids look up to them whereas Korean women let them do whatever they want.

I’ve also noticed that there seems to be this rivalry between foreigners when they meet at bars in Seoul. I still haven’t figured that one out, but it’s obvious when you see the interaction. Everyone is in his own little group and they either ignore, look down on or fear the other “whity” at the end of the bar. What do they have to brag about anyway?!

The common stereotypical White guy in Asia is easy to target. Like T said, he’s the total loser back home who was rejected by most people – but who is here a super hero because of the color of his skin!

It’s the most pathetic thing I’ve ever seen. Those guys (cauz you don’t really girls digging Korean men as much), they become so arrogant the minute they step foot in Korea because Korean women are all over them.

The reason of course is because they are part of the American dream and a lot of young Koreans have that dream in mind. Plus Korean men are very “special” (I’ll talk about it later) whereas Americans are the opposite. And finally, there’s always the attraction of the unknown.

I don’t care about this particular fact – after all, if the guy was not appreciated to his full value back home and here he finds true love, good for him! But I just can’t stand the arrogant brats who spread trouble and act like total jerks.

Those are the same people back home who want foreigners out of the country, who don’t tolerate Black and Hispanic people, who are racists or totally ethnocentric. When it happens home, they’re against it. But when they do it somewhere else, they’re all for it.



I know, I may not be bringing anything special to the Korean culture (except English and of course some say it’s a bad thing), but at least I love and respect it. I’m just a little worried, that’s all. There, i've said my peace ;)
Travel Blogs - Blog Top Sites

A creepy knight

September 30th

In order to celebrate the upcoming Chuseok holiday (Korean Thanksgiving, showing gratitude for the year’s harvest and bowing to dead relatives), we all went out on Friday night.

I had a date with my “Bukhansan knight” while my friends were all in my apartment, cooking kimchi pancakes and getting ready for our night out.

For some reason, I had the feeling that my friends had to meet Jang Ho. Just a feeling.

So we met at the subway station and I convinced him to drop by my place to meet my gals and have a drink. Best move ever.

He’s not a bad guy, but he definitely has issues. As we all do of course, but in a creepier way.

We went out again in Hongdae and had a great time! We totally danced the night out!! There was one incident which I want to come back to maybe in another post, but overall the evening was fun. T and I even got teased by lesbians – one of them literally rubbing herself against our... whatever!

Jang Ho showed his true colors when he almost punched a guy for talking to me. Then he tried to kiss me, and told me he doesn’t like when other men look at me. That was it for McDreamy.

The night ended abruptly when C and A left to get coffee and T joined them. As everyone had forgotten something at my place, we all took a cab and went back. Jang Ho carried me on his shoulder (oh yeah muscles!) but I finally was able to get rid of him after refusing to give him a beer.

We talked, and the girls said he’s really into me, but in an obsessive way. Just to prove them right, the phone rang and it was him. I didn’t pick up. He texted me, saying the weirdest things… again, he doesn’t like that guys look at me, he’s afraid I can’t love him the way he loves me, etc. I didn’t answer. But I do wonder how can I have such an immediate effect on some guys? Some guys that turn out to have serious issues!!

A slept over. She talked for a good 30 minutes, I really feel sorry for her. She’s questioning her whole existence and no answer seems to come up.

Still drunk in the middle of the night, I almost smashed down the door when thinking that I was trapped in the bathroom. A opened it for me… I was pushing instead of pulling!! What the…?!

The next day we went in Itaewon to get info about an eventual trip to the Philippines for Christmas. The usual McDonald’s fed our hangover and we went back home for a nap and at night, of course, we all met for sushi! Chris was the only one who didn’t look so hung over…this girl always looks nice!


Can’t believe I’ll have a whole week for traveling and all the plane tickets are sold out! Still haven’t figured out what to do…
Travel Blogs - Blog Top Sites