Reconnected

Greetings...

I'm very happy to report that this entire blog is being typed while using my very own consistent, reliable and fast internet. Meanwhile, Blade: Trinity is playing on my new TELEVISION set. That's right, I got cable TV too. Now, I'm not watching the third installment in the Blade series because I've been dying to see it again. I do have a soft spot in my populist genre heart for the wanna-be Matrix, Wesley Snipes as ultimate (cliche) badass, techno soundtrack for no good reason and constant "mythologic one-upping" that EVERY single vampire movie falls into but, again, that's not why I'm watching. I'm watching it because while I have over 60 channels to choose from, about 50 of those channels are either Korean or Japanese. Of the 10 English language channels to choose from, there's CNN (okay), a couple movie channels that play a very random variety, National Geographic (awesome) and the On Style channel...because I was really hoping to watch the Tyra Banks show while I was here. I'm not complaining--history tells us that Brent can live without television. But history has also never seen Brent without access to DVDs as well. For some reason, my DVDs won't play on my laptop. I need to look into getting that fixed. I've been shopping around but it seems as if Region-Free DVD players (that play American DVDs and Korean DVDs) are as elusive as the Siberian Spotted Owl (I totally made that up). That's okay...I didn't come to Korea to watch the same DVDs that I've already watched 5 times back home...but it would be nice to watch the Cosby Show DVDs I bought just before leaving! On the other hand, this internet access is definitely a treat. I can now call, video chat, download and blog whenever my little heart desires.

This is a slightly amusing story: I took the bus to school for the first time on Monday. I knew where to catch the bus but I wasn't exactly sure where to get off. I know it's somewhere along this one street. As we were driving down the road, I started to see familiar sites so I started making my move to hit the "STOP" button and get off. Before this can happen, the driver takes a sharp left turn and starts climbing this massive hill. Uh oh. Slightly panicked, I decide to wait and see if we'll either come back down this hill or, even better, go closer to my school which is also up this same hill. Well, things are looking grimmer and grimmer at this point--I recognize nothing and my hopes of this little misstep working in my favor are like snowflakes in Satan's fireplace. I hit the stop button and I didn't need to speak Korean to read the driver's expression: "Here? Really?" He stopped and opened the door. I stepped out and plotted my next move--do I go back down the hill or start walking in the direction of my school and hope I can connect somehow. I decide to make my way in the general direction of my school but this turned into a dead end after a few minutes. I turned around and walked all the way back down this hill. Did I mention that I was wearing my suit and tie? Oh yeah, totally stylin' in this broken down neighborhood--this guy was sliding cardboard boxes full of trash to the corner looking like he hauls boxes of trash for a living and he looks at me with an amount of surprise and confusion I can only imagine. Eventually, I found myself back on the main street and got to school. The next day, I take the bus again and I make a pledge to the Bus Gods that I will not make the same mistake twice. I fulfilled my pledge but I also made a different mistake: this time, I got off too early. I was so paranoid that I'd take another unsolicited scenic bus tour of the highlands of Busan, I got off the bus about a quarter mile too soon. The bus stopped and about 6 people got off and I blindly followed the herd. Today, I am very happy to report that the third time was indeed a charm. I got on and off at the correct places without incident. I will rule public transportation soon enough.

Yesterday, Rob and I got to leave work a bit early to visit the Immigration Office to get our Foreign Registration Card (our official ID as foreigners while we're here). While waiting for Rob on my subway platform, I hear some gruff shouting behind me. An obviously inebriated/crazy post-middle age man had a baseball hat out in front of him and he was basically yelling at people for money (I assume, although I've known crazy people who speak my own language who often rant about topics that have absolutely no pertinence to the situation). As he made his way through the small crowd of people, it was interesting to see people avoiding this man so emphatically. It almost made me a little concerned, like they knew something I didn't know. While riding the subway towards our destination, I had forgotten about this unfortunate soul completely. Then, as Rob and I are chatting, I see something moving on the floor. Of course, the drunk/crazy guy is now pulling himself across the floor of the subway car, pushing his favorite hat in front of him but not saying a word. People moved out of his way and women lifted their feet as he proceeded the entire length of the car. It was creepy, sad and hilarious all at once.

My first Korean BBQ experience was great. Rob and I hit up this place right across from my apartment--I can see it from my window in fact. Somehow, I managed to avoid going for Korean BBQ for 27 years before actually coming to Korea. We struggled a bit with our waiter trying to order beef but we eventually got some choice meat. They gave us a number of tiny dishes with little appetizers and sauces and additives that are all meant to compliment the meat. Again, like many Korean side dishes, these were just okay. They set some embers in the middle of our table and we cooked the meat ourselves. I just like the idea of cooking it ourselves as it adds that "participatory" element to dining out that is unfortunately absent from typical American establishments. We ended up getting two orders of meat and by the end I was nice and satisfied.

Rob and I decided to take our respective co-teachers out for dinner as a "thank you" for all the work they've been doing for us. After some humble reluctance/embarrassment, Mrs. Lee agreed. We're scheduled for next Monday night. Rob heard about this pretty popular steakhouse (not Outback!) that we're going to. Maybe after we've done some more exploring and adventuring, we'll find an even cooler place to take them to later in the year.

The medication I've been taking is starting to kick in and I'm getting pleasantly drowsy. I hope I feel better by this weekend as we have some ideas for exploring the beaches and the more touristy parts of Busan.

Stay tuned...

-Brent