Prior to leaving for Korea I had some very lofty ideas for this project. The internet is so over-saturated with blogs, particularly the “American abroad” blog, that I really wanted to approach this with some sort of unique angle. Of course your friends and family will stop in once and a while based on a sense of obligation, but for this thing to really mean something simply relegating Korea to a “land of contrasts, old and new, East and West,” is not enough. I really hoped make this a medium for presenting the country, both Seoul and beyond, through photographs, audio recordings, and textual interpretations of my daily experiences. Of course, this is not to say that these things won’t happen. I did, however, hope to begin documenting this coming year more immediately. There is certainly merit to sitting down and carefully piecing together every post for the sake of presentation. Arguably, my first two weeks here without internet, camera, or basic appliances in my new home offered me the perfect opportunity to begin doing this. Yet there is also an importance in an experience like this to conveying uninhibited first impressions. There isn’t time to consider how your writing might sound later; there is only a pure expression of those first thoughts of “Shit, this is some pretty crazy shit I’ve embarked on. Why the hell do my hosts think that giving me pizza with potatoes and shrimp is going to make me feel more at home?” And in that sense, I felt very restricted by the fact that I did not have internet or a camera to begin documenting these feelings.
As far as the camera goes, I only have my procrastination to blame. I wouldn’t, however, change anything about my last few days and nights in Oak Park. Thank you everyone for the company, beer, etc.! Contrary to this commercial, the beer here is limited to three brands that really aren’t that cool/tasty/refreshing but more along the lines of the Bud Lite/Keystone/horse piss variety.
(I’ve been trying to locate one of those rockin’ spiked masks that the kid in the black and white shirt is wearing, but have yet to be successful…)
The lack of internet on the other hand was just one of many surprises I met upon my arrival here. Now, I don’t mean to present this situation as if it were the end of my privileged little world. I do, however, think that when certain things are highlighted in your orientation pamphlet, such as South Korea being one of the most developed nations in the world for internet access, having some basic expectations is not that outrageous. I also naively assumed that amenities such as hot water, though not listed in the pamphlet, would be provided. Actually, save for a bed (unwrapped from its plastic and without sheets/blanket), the guest house I would be staying in for at least the next 6 months was completely unfurnished. I think it may go without saying that the first couple of days here were a little stressful. Combined with my apprehensions about leaving home to a completely foreign place for a year, I definitely questioned whether or not I had made the right decision. Despite this, I soon found out I was surrounded by individuals who were just as nervous, excited, and hopeful about what it means to commit yourself to such a journey.
Some of my companions:
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| Gabi and Vlastimil, a wonderful couple from the Czech Republic… |
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Natsuki, from Japan… |
And my school assigned “buddy”, Seung-taek, who has turned out now only to be completely indispensable in getting set-up here but also a really stand-up guy. It is these and other people who really made the transition to life here in Korea possible.
As of posting time, we have pretty much received all the furnishings that would be expected of a college guest house. Quite possibly due to my e-mail to the student exchange coordinator at UIC we also got some unexpected things, like a little Korean grandmother who comes every couple days around 8 a.m. to clean up and take out the garbage. Pictures of the dorm and Korean grandmother coming soon! Since it has taken so long to get this thing up and running, I have quite a few stories, loads of pictures, and a select few video and audio recordings (several have been lost due to my lack of proficiency with the recording devices…) sitting on my computer. Hopefully to make the posts a little more accessible and engaging, I will break them up in to shorter and more specific entries. So to wet your palette for what’s in store…
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Colorful dancing! |
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Panoramic views! |
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Ancient architecture! |
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Rock n’ Roll! |
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Cute Asian things! |
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| Delicious food and drink! (There were hot dogs, Spam, AND hamburger in that. I’m making a triumphant return to meat eating.) |
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| And sometimes too much drink… |
Stay tuned.
