The Real Middle East

The Kandora

On Thursday morning, the office where I had interviewed called to let me know that I had landed the internship.  I told them that I wanted the weekend to think about it and would let them know first thing Sunday morning before class.  I had a lot to think about over the weekend as well as a ton of work from classes that week.  Naturally, it was time to go out for a good time to clear my mind to make these decisions.  When classes ended on Thursday, I called up a few friends and decided to go to the Belgian Bar fairly close to campus.  According to the Europeans, it was a really great representation of what a bar in Belgium actually is like – complete with the correct design and drinks.  We chilled on the rooftop terrace for an hour or two before the heat became too ridiculous.  We hopped in a taxi and cruised down the boulevard to a well-recommended karaoke place.  When we opened the door, the place was packed wall to wall; we could barely move.  Eventually, we found the microphone and it was “Sweet Home Alabama” all the way.  Half of the songs on the system were Korean, and I started having massive flashbacks to my summer in Korea at the noraebangs.  We hung out there for a while watching Marc’s crazy dance moves and listening to Tom’s rather startling scream-o bit before deciding to call it a night. 

In the old city

Friday was quite a lazy day; all we wanted to do was relax.  We spent the afternoon chilling at the pool and shopping at the Mall of the Emirates.  That evening, I went to dinner with Marc, Vanessa, and Martina who have decided that their goal for the semester is to make me European in all aspects.  After being approached three times last week to be told that I look distinctly American, I told them good luck.  Their first attempt at the transformation by feeding me sparkling water was an unfortunate failure. 

Middle Eastern Culture Crash Course

As I said in my last post, Dubai is such an international city that it often feels like being in the US, so I made it my mission for the weekend to explore some areas that were a bit more Middle Eastern.  Though I’ll admit that this desire mostly stemmed from wanting to sing themes from “The Mummy” and “The Prince of Egypt” while walking around an old Middle Eastern-looking area, I was no less excited when I found out that the study abroad mentors were taking us to an old market (called a souq) Saturday morning.  We took a bus from the school to the old section of Dubai next to the creek area where we were greeted by a man dressed in a traditional kandora at the Sheikh Mohammed Center for Cultural Understanding.  I knew that it was going to be a good day when he started by saying, “Today I will answer all of your questions about the Middle East and Islam.  It’s a day of learning, and no question is off limits.  For example, many say that if you commit suicide you’ll get 72 virgins; I’m dead and that’s a lot to manage!  What would I do with 72 virgins!?”  He proceeded to take us on a tour of part of the old city area and demonstrated the standard procedure in a mosque.  After the tour, we ate a traditional Middle Eastern meal in the courtyard of a house while sitting on pillows and rugs.  It was seriously the best food I’ve had since arriving.  The rice had a cinnamon taste and was mixed with incredibly tender beef and vegetables.  He let me take some to go. 

A cruise down the creek

After leaving the Islamic Cultural Center, we took a voyage across the creek in a rickety old wooden boat as people have done for hundreds of years.  We arrived in a whole new world, completely different than the high rise metropolitan area that typifies downtown Dubai.  There, we toured a gold souq, a spice souq, and a textile souq.  I had been dying to buy a kandora since arriving here, and I finally got the chance to buy one for a really cheap price!  At the souq, you have to haggle with the shop owners to get a good price, so you don’t want them to know how much you’re actually willing to pay and how much you really like the product.  We Americans would go into the store and discuss in Spanish what we actually thought, throw a price out in English to the shop owners.  The shop owners would discuss amongst themselves in Arabic or Urdu before replying in English.  To get a better price, I told them I was Ukrainian, so they were too confused when we began speaking in Spanish.  Their faces were hilarious.  

The desert church

On Sunday after class, I decided that it had been too long since I’d been to church and found a night service at an Anglican church not too far from campus.  Well, Google maps can be a bit deceiving, especially when it gives directions via public transport.  I was doing pretty well, taking the train to the right stop then taking the correct feeder bus just outside the city proper.  I got off the bus with about ten other people, looked around, and realized that I was in fact in the desert.  To my right was a compound of houses that looked like something out of Star Wars, to my left lay the desert, and behind me was the skyline of Dubai in the distance.    The small crowd of people all started walking in one direction down a dirt road, so I decided to follow, asking one on the way where the church was.  "The Catholic church?" she asked.  I thought for a moment before saying yes, figuring it was better to sit through a Catholic mass than sit through a half hour alone in the desert hoping the next bus would show up.  After a ten minute sojourn through the desert under the starry night sky with the huge moon looming in the distance, we arrived at the Christian compound.  She asked if I was Catholic, and I told her no, that I was in fact looking for the Episcopal church.  A guy also in the group of desert wanderers turned around and said in a British accent, "hey mate, I'm Anglican.  That's pretty much Episcopal right?  Just come with me."  Come to find out, all of the Christian churches in Dubai are required to be on specific compounds, so the Catholic, Protestant, Orthodox, and whatever others are all on the same plot of land.  Thankfully, my new friend Neil showed me to the right place.  The service was small but nice, and one of the church members fortunately gave us a ride back to the train station rather than having to trek through the desert to a bus on the side of an old dirt road.

Okay, so not where I work, but a beach sunset is a
better picture than a gray office.

On Monday afternoon, I started my internship with Korn/Ferry International as a research analyst intern.  Their office is in the airport free zone which is about a 45 minute train ride from my dorm and quite removed from the skyscrapers of downtown.  When I exited the train station, I was really thankful that I remembered my sunglasses because without all of the buildings around, the wind whipped all of the sand straight into my face as I walked to find a cab.  I hailed two cabs, and just like in a movie, two incredibly rude people swooped in front of me and stole my taxi.  I would have been mad, but I was too busy laughing - I couldn't believe people actually did that!  Anyway, my orientation into the office was really interesting; I learned all about the different projects that the firm is involved in and got assigned to my first project.  The staff is all incredibly friendly and interesting.  I'm the only American in the office, and the staff has adopted many British words used by our English boss.  I have to keep a tab open on the internet just to search words like "gobsmacked," "botch job," or "dodgy."  It's almost as hard as learning Arabic.  

Dubai Nightlife

Thursday night, my friends and I decided to go out for a night on the town.  I started off at a friend's sister's apartment in Marina hanging out for a bit before meeting up with the rest of the group.  The view from the balcony was absolutely amazing, overlooking campus and the twin Empire State Buildings.  Afterward, we headed out to the Palm to chill for a bit with some friends.  The pool where we stayed overlooked a marina, surrounded by villas and canals.  In the distance was the Burj Khalifa and the Burj Al Arab protruding from the water.  After a bit, we took a taxi downtown to meet up with the rest of our group at the club.  We weren't allowed into the VIP area but still had a great time hanging out and dancing.  It was a great night full of a lot of good stories.  

I started the week wanting to explore the "real Middle East," but in the end I realized that even though downtown Dubai may not be dotted with minarets or filled with winding corridors with little shops on the side, it is just as important to the region and its culture.  With all of the events of the past week, I realized that it's important to remember that parts of the region, such as the UAE, aren't filled with violence and are modernizing and progressing at an amazing rate.  Finding the real Middle East is realizing that the region can't be grouped under one umbrella and learning to enjoy the good experiences that come no matter what the surroundings. 

United States of Arabia

Burj Khalifa - the world's tallest building

When AUD students ask how we Americans are adjusting to life in Dubai, they are always surprised when we tell them that it is really not that different from the US.  In fact, I would say that Dubai feels very much like being in Las Vegas.  Well, other than hearing the call to prayer over the mall's loudspeakers.  And of course there are a ton of men in kandoras and women in veils.  Well, and alcohol is only allowed in hotel bars.  Oh, and nobody here speaks English as their first language.  And of course there are the workers who clean our dorm rooms every week for us.  Okay, so maybe it's a bit different than life in the US, but it's certainly not the culture shock I expected moving to a country on the Persian Gulf!

An evening in Dubai.

The past week has been a whirlwind of activity - starting with last weekend.  Since this is a Muslim country, our week is Sunday through Thursday with our weekends being Friday and Saturday, something that definitely took some adjustment.  On Thursday night, some friends and I decided to do a bit of exploring and head to the world's largest shopping mall, conveniently located right next to the world's largest building.  We took some obnoxiously touristy pictures in front of the Burj Khalifa before heading to the mall.  I really underestimated what it would be like to be in the world's largest mall, and it probably goes without saying, but this place was MASSIVE!!  We spent four hours walking around the different souqs and shops and never doubled back on ourselves.  There was an aquarium, countless fountains, an ice skating rink (still blowing my mind that it's in the desert), and tons of fantastic restaurants.  We finally stopped at a Lebanese place to eat some dinner before we collapsed.  Out the window, we had a fantastic view of the Burj Khalifa fountains which are very much like the Fountains at Bellagio in Las Vegas.  Every half hour, there was a water, lights, and music show with the Burj Khalifa and a souq in the background.  It was a really fun evening!

Chillin' at JBR

On Friday, it was time to go to this beach that everyone kept talking about.  We took off for Jumeirah Beach Residence public beach, right at the base of the Palm Jumeirah.  I am going to get way spoiled with such a nice beach only a $3 cab ride from my dorm room.  The water was so clear that we could see our feet no problem, and there was hardly any wildlife near the beach, though I did get stung by a small jellyfish twice.  We ate a late lunch at a beach-side cafe before heading back to campus to escape the heat.  Later that afternoon, we met up again to go to the largest IMAX in the Middle East and Asia to see the latest Batman, which was just released in the UAE.  It was a strange trip, and I seriously thought I was being abducted.  The taxi driver left the main strip of the city and started driving into the desert.  I was pretty sure that he was taking us right into the heart of the Saudi Arabian desert, but fortunately, like a mirage in the distance, a huge structure appeared in the middle of the desert, just outside the last buildings of Dubai.  At a random camel race track, there was the giant IMAX.  I think that the trip out there was better than the movie itself.  That evening, all of the study abroad students ended up heading to our favorite local standard, conveniently located just behind the dorm, to hang out before calling it a night.

Dubai Mall keeping it classy with
some first class fountains

Though it had been a really fun weekend, I couldn't help but dread the coming week of classes.  Since I'm only taking 12 hours here, I get really bored in the afternoons and decided that I needed something to occupy my time since the homework load is incredibly small.  So, I decided to look for an internship and found a few through the career services office and by word of mouth through some of my friends.  I have a couple options, but for now only one carries a story to share.  I got called into an interview for a research intern position at a company on the other side of town and went to meet them yesterday.  After class, I suited up and took the Metro to the office.  I probably should have at least read an article about doing business in the Middle East before diving right into it, but that just wouldn't be near as exciting.  The interview lasted an hour and forty-five minutes and included intense questioning by the four people who work in the office.  It actually wasn't that different than an American interview; I just met with each of the office staff.  The office manager is British and absolutely hilarious.  He looked at my resume and noticed that I had spent the summer in Korea and spoke some basic Korean.  He pointed to me and said, "Give it a go!"  So, I commenced to give him a rundown of my daily schedule in Korean.  I was glad that I could remember some Korean language, because at the end, he told me that he had lived in Seoul for a decade and knew some basic Korean.  Regardless of whether or not I actually get the internship, it was quite an entertaining afternoon.

The midweek pick-me-up

 When I got back to campus, it was time to celebrate a good interview, and let's be real - it's college.  Do we really need an excuse to celebrate??  Fortunately, there were quite a few people who also needed a mid-week pick-me-up.  We went back to JBR's strip of fun restaurants to chill at a couple beach-side hangouts for a few hours, watching the string of ridiculously expensive cars parade down the beach-front road.  At least there are a few affordable restaurants there!  It was a really fun evening, but waking up for class the next morning was quite painful.  Fortunately, I had plenty of time for a three-hour afternoon nap after class!  Even though living in Dubai sometimes feels like living in the United States of Arabia, the people here are some of the most interesting I have ever met, and the experiences never disappoint.  It hasn't even been two weeks since I arrived, and so much has happened.  There is no telling what the next three and a half months have in store.

The Next Great Adventure

Train into Dubai!

I've been in Dubai for six days now, but it certainly feels like much much longer with all the activities and adventures I've already gotten myself into.  From the less than glamorous travel to the absolute excess that is Dubai, it has been an insane week moving to the Arabian peninsula.  But before I get into all that, here's a little background on what I'm doing here.  

The front entrance to my school.  Beautiful campus!

I applied for the Clinton Scholars program which awards ten American students the chance to study at American University in Dubai (AUD) for a semester free of 

charge.  I originally received the scholarship for the 5-week summer term but instead opted to go to Korea with CLS.  Fortunately, the Clinton Scholarship committee pushed my application back to the fall semester and offered me a place here from August through December.  What started as a 5-week trip to the desert became a four-month stint in one of the world's most incredible cities.  

This is a view from the front gate to my dorm.
We're right in the middle of the city.

After I got back from Korea last month, I spent two weeks in Alabama visiting family and friends and trying to get 

everything squared away for this next great adventure.  It was such a short visit, and I didn't get near enough time to see everybody or do everything that I wanted to do.  But time waits for no one, so on August 29th, I pulled up to Huntsville International and boarded a plane for the unknown.  The fourteen-hour flight was one of the worst rides I'd ever taken.  There was so much turbulence that a guy in front of me threw up as the lady next to him received oxygen and was dragged to the galley where she passed out.  I have never wanted to get out of a place quite that badly.  When I got off the plane and headed past the Muslim prayer rooms to the restroom, I looked into the bathrooms and saw squat toilets and a hose to clean yourself.  Welcome to the Middle East.  

Shopping mall - Middle Eastern style!

I got past immigration without hassle and found a taxi to take me to AUD.  After signing into the dorms and getting my key, I met the guys across the hall - my RA (Marc) who is French and another American here for the semester (Lloyd).  I unpacked a bit before heading to a late 9PM dinner with Lloyd at a restaurant down the street and couldn't believe how smoky the place was.  There were at least twenty tables of people smoking hookah in the restaurant.  Apparently everyone in the Middle East smokes; I'm hoping that four months of second hand smoking won't be enough to negate not smoking for the past 19 years.  Since I had come with only two suitcases and two carry-ons, I had no blankets or pillows and spent the night on an old stained dorm room mattress with a jacket for warmth.  It was a sad day.

Chillin' at the Dubai Marina.

The next morning, Lloyd and I, along with a couple other study abroad students, took the metro to the mall where we entered the Dubai version of Wal Mart and stocked up on all the dorm room essentials.  The rush hour commuters packed like sardines on the train were not happy when we entered with all of our bags, blankets, and pillows in tow.  That evening, I went for a short run around the track before heading back to the dorm dripping in sweat.  On my way in, a guy stopped me and said, "Are you Jacob the study abroad student?"  I told him I was to which he replied, "cool, we're going to dinner fifteen minutes."  It turns out that he is one of the study abroad mentors who the university assigns to find us and make sure we have a good time in Dubai.  I met up with the group of study abroad students and mentors for a fun Friday night at the Dubai Marina where we learned all the do's and don't's of Dubai.  The rest of the weekend went about the same way, with orientation sessions, dinners and outings to the mall with the study abroad group, and meeting a ton of really cool people.  Despite a couple nuisances such as getting lost on the metro in search of a non-profit where I'm supposed to volunteer, dripping with sweat in the 105 degree weather between classes, or, you know, actually having to go to class, I can tell it's going to be an amazing semester in Arabia!

Becoming Korean

Holy water, unholy bacteria.

Over the past two weeks, I have learned two very important lessons.  One - there is no such thing as Buddhist holy water.  And two - even though the water may look holy, when it comes from a mountain stream and hasn't been filtered, it still contains bacteria.  I probably should have used better judgement before drinking from this fountain anyway (see picture right).  My digestive tract will never be the same.

After we got back from the amazing excursion two weekends ago, it was time to hit the books.  We had two weeks left until finals and a week and a half until the dreaded Oral Proficiency Interview - a half hour phone call that determines how much we have learned.  Everyday that week was pretty much the same - class, cafe, study, home, dinner, study, sleep.  When class ended on Friday, we were all absolutely exhausted not to mention sick from the unholy water.  I ended up going to a cafe and eating dinner with friends before heading home.  Even though it was a rather dull Friday, it was great to be able to speak some English.  I had only spoken broken English for the past two weeks, and it was time for a break from the Korean.

I'm adding this to my list of "Korean Practices
That Would Lead to Major US Lawsuits" 

I knew that I needed to keep practicing Korean over the weekend so I would be ready for the OPI and the final exam the next week, so I was really glad when my host family suggested we take a trip to an island just off the west coast.  The eight of us set out for Wido on Satuday morning in the good ol' family van.  After driving for an hour, we arrived at a ferry terminal where we grabbed all of our stuff, parked the car, and got on board.  It was a beautiful 45 minute ride, with mountains jutting out of the water all around and birds diving for crackers that we threw from the sides.  I wasn't exactly sure where we were staying or how we were getting around since we had left the car on the mainland, but I have learned by now to just go with the flow.  So, it wasn't at all weird for me when I got in the back of a dune buggy/truck/ATV-ish vehicle with my host siblings and set out along the miles of winding mountain roads next to the sea.

The beautiful sunset outside our cabin.

Twenty minutes later, we arrived at a cabin right on the ocean.  It isn't like any beach that I've been to before with loads of tourists crowding under umbrellas waiting for daquiris.  It felt a lot more like being at the lake with barbecuing on the deck and walking down to the water.  We went to the beach for a couple hours where my host brothers got a hold of water guns.  Actually I think "water rockets" is a better way to describe these things.  Whoever thought it a good idea to give them weapons probably needs to reevaluate their decision making process.  We spent that night shooting fireworks on the beach and taking a mystery "ghost" walk down the road.  Besides that, it was simply the most incredible sunset I have ever seen in my life.  The cabin was one room plus a bathroom and loft and in traditional Korean style had no beds.  Uncle Joe and I were exiled to the loft due to our obnoxiously loud snoring.

A bit worse for wear but quite the haul of clams!

The next morning, Aunt Kim, her sister, my host sister, our younger brother, and I decided to take a walking tour around part of the coast.  On our way out of the cabin, the owner stopped us and insisted that we allow her to take us in her truck around the island.  For the next hour, we circled the island, driving through a half dozen tiny fishing villages that dotted the coast, stopping for pictures at a hidden temple and at washed up boats along the way.  We took a short break before setting off on a clam digging adventure.  My host sister, a random Korean guy, and I hopped in the back of that same ATV and headed to the coast.  The tide had just gone out, exposing acres of mush crawling with tiny crabs.  We dug for two hours, searching for clams in the hot sun with crabs crawling through the mud which oozed through our feet.  Covered in mud, we finished the excursion with quite the haul and had some great clam soup that week.

So much solar!

On our drive back home, we passed the Renewable Energy Theme Park.  Yes, I had been about an hour's drive away from a Renewable Energy Theme Park all summer and hadn't heard about it.  Despite the hours of Google searching, it never occurred to me to search in Korean for renewable energy and economics institutes in the area.  I had to go.  Fortunately, Chae Wu was also really interested in the idea, and he, Nick, and I took off after school on Tuesday for some exploring.  After plenty of confusion about bus routes, we eventually found the theme park.  It was about this time that I realized "theme park" is a very literal translation, as in, it is a park with a renewable energy theme and a museum.  I was a little disappointed at the lack of roller coasters and churros, but I learned a lot from the museum and found some good sources for the future.  It ended up being a good thing that I hadn't found the place earlier - everything was in Korean, so I had just enough language to piece together the meanings of the exhibits with the help of diagrams and the always obliging Chae Wu.

One of the acceptable pictures.

The last week of classes was of course packed with testing, cramming sessions, studying, and more testing.  By Friday, we were absolutely tired of studying Korean and ready to have some fun.  So after a three-hour traditional music rehearsal, we set out to make the last weekend night with friends great.  First, a few of us went to a DVD Bong which is basically a place where you can rent a movie and watch it on a projector in a private room.  Yes, you can imagine what generally occurs in a DVD Bong, but I was surprised at how clean and non-sketchy it really was.  After our movie ended, we headed to dinner and then to a lively establishment to hang out.  It was a great mix of Korean and American friends, and I found myself speaking Korean not because I had to, but because we wanted to since that was the language most people were comfortable with.  Our host families gave us all extended curfews since it was the last Friday, so we had a great time.  I'm really going to miss these people!

The wonderful lady who drug me kicking and
screaming through the intensity of beginning Korean.

On Saturday evening, a few of the CLS students and I went to a traditional Korean music concert that was playing near campus.  It was extremely boring, so I was super excited when my host family texted me to ask if I wanted to see Batman that night.  Well, I'm not quite sure what the hangup was, but we instead ended up watching a comedy that was entirely in Korean.  I found out later that it was supposed to be a parody of Gone With the Wind, but I'm not quite sure what the movie was about so can't say for sure.  Regardless, it was certainly a fun way to spend the last Saturday here.

Graduation performance!  Tie and t-shirt,
probably not my best look...

After a four-hour long graduation on Sunday in which I made a fool of myself running around in a bib and bear ears (possibly one of the reasons I was dubbed the Korean equivalent of "Class Clown"), my host family invited Chae Wu to dinner with us.  We ate an incredible meal and toasted the end of a great summer for all of us.  Sitting around the table as I introduced my friend/tutor Chae Wu to my Korean host family was a bit surreal.  It felt very strange to be introducing another Korean to my Korean family when I am clearly the most foreign guy there.  I think my transformation to adopted Korean child is now complete.

Final Thoughts on Korea:
This has been the most incredible summer of my life.  Two months ago, I set myself in a host family in a foreign city, knowing nothing about their culture, language, life, etc. and frankly not sure whether or not I would make it through the full program.  It was a huge challenge in the beginning, but between the other CLS students, teachers, and host family, I have had some of the craziest, funniest, and most memorable times of my life.  It's hard to leave knowing that I may never see some of these people again, but I wouldn't trade the last couple months for anything.  It has certainly been quite an adventure.

Losing Modesty

Myra's Birthday in the Norebang

Sorry it has been so long since my last post!  The past couple weeks have been full of adventure with the added stress of trying to get ready for the fall, so time has been pretty limited.  Anyway, I'll try to keep things short and let you in on all that's happened recently, starting with last Monday.  Last week was CLS Birthday Week with three birthdays.  Myra's birthday was on Monday, and we headed to a norebang after class let out.  Norebangs are always a good time, especially when they have "Call Me Maybe."  The few Koreans who were with us just didn't understand when we all jumped up to dance during the chorus.  I don't know why that song is so awesome...

Tea Ceremony Time

The rest of the week was pretty uneventful until our class excursion on Thursday.  After school, we went to the Hanok Village where we donned hanboks and learned how to perform a traditional tea ceremony.  As you probably know, I am a total spazz.  Trying to steep the tea and pour it in the set pattern with proper decorum while speaking Korean was just too much for me.  Besides my laughing at random times and awkward mistakes, my phone went off during the ceremony, and it took me forever to get it out from under the three or four layers of clothes I had on.  The tea ceremony instructor was less than pleased...

On that midnight train to Jeonju.

After school on Friday, Winston and I headed to the bus terminal and set off for his birthday weekend in Seoul.  We arrived at the hostel in Itaewon just before dinner, got cleaned up, and went in search for some non-Korean food which we eventually found at a Bulgarian restaurant.  It was really random.  After dinner, we went in search for some nightlife and met some really cool English teachers along the way who showed us around.  Our other friends from the CLS program, Justin and Chris, also finally made it.  It was an incredibly fun night with some great memories.  The next day, we took it easy and slept in before meeting up with some other CLS people for a dinner of fried chicken.  Afterward, we went to a honky tonk called Grande Olde Opry.  I'm not even joking - in the middle of Korea is a legit country bar with Kellie Pickler, Alan Jackson, Taylor Swift, and line dancin'.  Speaking Korean in the honky tonk was one of the weirdest experiences of my life and has caused so many strange dreams since.  I had to leave at 10PM to make the midnight bus back to Jeonju (I sang "Midnight Train to Georgia" subbing in "Midnight Bus to Jeonju" about fifty times that day) and was sad to leave Seoul - a city full of many crazy memories.

I arrived back at the apartment in Jeonju at 2:30 that morning and was hating life when my 5:30 alarm went off Sunday morning.  The host family and I left the house at 6AM for the 2012 World Expo in Yeosu - about two hours away.  Somewhere along the way I got a second wind, because despite the miles of walking I did that weekend, I was ready to go for the Expo.  The theme of this year's World's Fair revolved around the ocean, conservation, and renewable energy which are all areas that I am really interested in studying.  My host sister and I had a great time exploring the International Exhibits, but I'm not sure that host brother was equally amused.  By hour five, he was having a bad time for real.  I think the picture explains it pretty well...  

Ringing in evening prayer.

"Where do you come from??"

The next week only had three days of classes, difficult as usual, and was full of homework and tutoring.  My tutor (Chae Wu) and I went on a bit of an adventure on Tuesday in search of my rain boots which I left at the tea ceremony the week before.  It took a while, but we eventually found them down a side street at a restaurant.  I don't know why I can always find a cheap $20 pair of rain boots but Raybans never show up after they go missing.  On Thursday morning, everyone from CLS met up at the school, and we set out on our third and final cultural trip around the country.  We drove to the east 

coast and ended up at a Buddhist temple nestled in a forest valley.  That afternoon, we participated in many rituals with the monks; my favorite was using the ram to sound the massive gong for evening meditation.  We set out with a monk on a hike of silence through miles of tree-lined paths, stopping for meditation along the way.  That night, we stayed at the temple in hanoks next to the stream.  I was set for a great night of sleep until that 3:50 AM alarm sounded.  Yes, 3:50 AM.  We were pulled from bed by the sound of the gong from across the compound, calling everyone for morning meditation.  After meditation, we walked into a room with mats for each of us and beads with string in front of each.  I thought, "oh, arts and crafts time - this should be fun!"  Wrong.  In fact, it was an exercise to learn about the Buddhist belief in 108 sufferings.  There was a bead for each suffering, and in order to understand the suffering, we did a stand, bow, stand sequence while thinking of human suffering.  It took 35 minutes.  In silence.  My legs were suffering, my butt was suffering, and I was hungry.  At least I now have a cool souvenir...

Night on the beach.

After lunch, we left the temple and set off again.  We had already deviated from the schedule, so I wasn't exactly sure where we were headed.  At one rest stop, we all got off the bus to find rolling hills and a goat farm complete with petting zoo.  When we were at the petting zoo, a Korean kid came up to me and said in English, "Hello, where do you come from?"  When I responded in Korean, he screamed and ran away.  His parents found me later, laughed, and insisted that we get a picture.  After the goat farm, we headed for that night's acommodations - a 99-room hanok house.  I christened it the "CLS Party House," and the name couldn't have been more accurate.  After dinner and a tour of the complex, our teachers loaded us up by class into taxis; none of us knew where they were sending us.  We ended up at the beach which happened to be just miles from our house.  Nobody was prepared for a trip to the beach, so after hours of hanging out on the beach, our taxi drivers were less than pleased to get soaking wet and sandy college students packed into the back of their cars.  The night was pretty crazy - our teachers definitely know how to have a good time!

Let's cross that bridge when we get there

In the morning, we headed out through the mountains for a hike.  We hiked for about a mile to a monorail station which took us to an incredible cavern.  The cavern was spectacular with amazing formations and slime.  It took a full hour to traverse it all, and I was very thankful that I packed my hiking boots for the venture.  After the monorail and hike back to the bus, we set out for the beach (part 2).  On the bus ride there, our bus driver found the news station on the built-in TV, and we watched the opening ceremonies and Parade of Nations for the Olympics.  Driving through the mountains of Korea and shouting for Team USA in Korean is one of my favorite memories from this summer.  

Swimming in the Pacific.

The weather was perfect at the beach, and we had a great time in the water.  After a few hours, we headed to our hotel for the night which we quickly discovered was complete with a traditional Korean sauna.  I'm not sure if you're familiar with Korean saunas, but they are not for the faint-hearted.  It is essentially a huge room with public baths of varying temperatures where you and your closest friends (and teachers...) get naked and relax in the giant hot tubs.  It was actually a lot of fun after the initial awkwardness and was definitely a bonding experience.  The novelty of the sauna wore off rather quickly, and we decided to explore the random village where we had landed for the night.  We stepped out of the hotel only to find a free concert just down the road.  As happens a lot with us, we weren't dressed for the occasion, and Myra can now say that she went to a concert in her pajamas.  I went into the convenience store for snacks, and when I came out, I ran into two teenage girls who saw me and literally started screaming and shouting "movie star."  When I spoke to them in Korean, trying to explain that I wasn't in fact a movie star, one seriously went weak at the knees, and her friend had to hold her up.  To all of you haters of my hair gel - please reference this video.  I am still in shock.  

My Amazing Class

We got back to Jeonju Sunday afternoon after hours of driving (and sleeping) on the way back.  It was another incredible journey with crazy stories that just couldn't happen anywhere else.  It occurred to me on the bus ride today that leaving Korea is going to be much harder than I thought - it has become a second home, and I have made friends here that I will have a horrible time saying goodbye to.  There are only two more weeks left here - it's time to make the most of them.  

Crazy Korean Discoveries: 

1. In some ways Koreans are very conservative, but in others, they have no modesty whatsoever.  For example, many Korean met won't go shirtless at the beach but they have no problem soaking naked in a bathhouse.  

2. During meals, you're unlikely to be served individually with separate plates.  Typically, all of the food is placed in the middle of the table, and everyone attacks it with chopsticks.  I can't count the number of times I've gotten in chopstick fights for the most American-looking food on the table.

3. Yep, this happened: (picture right)

The Great Wall of Geochang

So glad to be done with that exam!

In America, we all have Asian friends, and as a general rule they study about five times as much as the rest of us.  I used to not put much thought into it, thining that it was merely coincidence.  And then I experienced midterms week in Korea.  We got new material up until the day before the exam.  On exam day, we spent three hours in testing, 90 minutes of written exam plus a rotating individual oral proficiency exam.  After it was over, our teacher took us to an all you can eat American lunch buffet.  I haven't eaten that much in one sitting since Dad took me to DC in eleventh grade and I discovered the endless breakfast bar.  Needless to say, I was worthless for 5th and 6th periods and instead spent my time in a total food coma.

Fun at squid party night with Mina.

I got home from school on Thursday and assumed my normal position on the sofa in the living room.  Aunt Kim was running around like crazy and told me that "Uncle Joe and sister are coming for dinner."  I said, "sounds good!"  Of course, this conversation was in Korean, and the thing about Korean is that there is no distinction between singular and plural.  For example, if you go to the bakery, you may say, "I want bagel" which can mean that you want anywhere from 1 to 100 bagels.  You have to add the optional units for clarification.  So a better thing to say may be "I want bagel, 12 bagel units please."  Or in my case, it may have been better for Aunt Kim to say, "Uncle Joe and sister - 7 people units - are coming to dinner."  Yes, seven sisters.  When the doorbell kept ringing and women kept coming through the door, I started to wonder what kind of party this was.  However, the night was really fun, and my confusion was soon cleared up.  They also served my favorite Korean food which was a plus.

On a search for the Buddhist temple.

On Friday, I was completely exhausted from the intense schedule of the week.  I could tell I was getting sick and needed to sleep.  I honestly can't remember the last time I got a full eight hours.  But when I was invited to squid party night in makoli town, I of course couldn't turn down an invitation.  I met up with some CLS friends and a few of our new Korean friends.  Though my conversation pieces pretty much amount to random pickup lines and "What did you do yesterday?" we had a good time.

Buddhist Temple.

The next morning, we met at the school at 8:30 for another weekend trip.  Clearly we just can't stay put for more than a few days.  Luckily, we had plenty of time to sleep between random literature houses and museums.  That afternoon, our bus stopped at an unmarked point in the middle of a mountain road, and we were told it was hiking time.  We set off on a 7 km hike through kudzoo-covered mountain paths, just budding soy bean fields, and finally an incredible breathtaking rock beach.  Unfortunately, we took the wrong turn at some point and were forced to trek over a rather trecherous part of the beach which was covered in slippery, pointy, algae rocks.  Added challenge: it was raining.  Thank goodness for good shoes!  After another 3 km monsoon hike, we ended up at a secluded Buddhist temple deep in the woods, a mile from the nearest road.  It was absolutely beautiful set against the foggy mountain backdrop.

Beach night!

We eventually ended up at the hotel which was right on the beach and of course boasted the most incredible views.  That night, after I made a fool of myself at the Korean poetry reading, a few friends and I went to the beach and sat around watching some crazy guys shoot fireworks at their friend target in the water.  It was a lot of fun!

Traversing Geochang with my teacher.

The next day, we toured a literature house and discovered ancient tombs of high class people that were in the style of Stonehenge.  It is crazy that they were able to lift those huge stone


into formation without the help of modern technology.  Afterward, we headed to the city of Geochang's Old City Wall and fortress that was used to protect its citizens from attacks.  I dubbed it the "Great Wall of Geochang," but I really have no idea what it was called.  We arrived back home in Jeonju that evening for some much needed rest.  I don't think I've slept past 8AM since leaving America, but why sleep when there is so much to explore??  This summer, there is an adventure around every corner.

Crazy Korean Discoveries:
1. There is a saying that says, "If you go to Korea, don't forget to pack a spare liver."  This country can drink some booze, let me tell you.  They also have very strict rules for drinking.  For example, when drinking, you must turn away from anyone who is older or higher ranked than you.  This is one of the most awkward table practices I have ever seen.
2. Never, ever write somebody's name in red ink.  This means either that they are dead, will die soon, or you want them to die.  Similarly, if you give somebody a gift in a set of four (like four cups or something), it is like telling them to go die.

28 Hours in the World's Largest City

After last weekend's trip, I came home to a near empty house; both Aunt Kim and Uncle Joe were gone.  After some initial confusion, I found out from host sister that the grandma had died and that their aunt would be staying at the house until the parents returned from the funeral.  The next couple days were pretty crazy with about a million family members coming through the house.  At one point, I exited my room to find three middle-aged women in black robes running through the house.  I am not quite sure who they were, but they made a great dinner.  By Tuesday, things had calmed down at the house, but school was a different story.

Spiderman Movie Night

On Monday, we beginners made the much anticipated language pledge, agreeing not to speak English on campus, at group activities, or at home.  Even though this has led to many awkward moments such as telling the music teacher that the meaning of life is to rave or realizing that we left someone at the Seoul bus station, my Korean skills have been increasing exponentially.  Last night, I actually held a conversation with my host family in Korean - albeit broken Korean - for nearly three hours.  With help from plenty of pictures and hand motions, we were able to have a normal conversation which was really cool!  Apparently Aunt Kim has been worrying that I don't eat enough and that my host brother eats too much bread instead of rice.

Dinner at the Professor's Apartment

Indian Tea and Wine Bar

Thursday was an insane day.  In addition to the normal 8:30 - 3:30 class, we had a culture activity with our teacher.  After class, we headed to her apartment to make some traditional Korean food (the good homemade kind, not the Anchovy Hotel style sadness) and watched TV dramas.  I had made plans to see Spiderman with the host fam that night, and I thought that I was to meet at the apartment at 8:00.  Turns out, the movie started at 8:00, so when I pulled up to the apartment in a taxi at 7:45, the host fam was already in the van in the parking lot and waving frantically and yelling as I jumped into the van, just shutting the door as Aunt Kim hit the gas.  They are serious about their movie times.  It was a fun outing, except for the fact that I had to stay up way too late studying for a test the next day.  Luckily on Friday, our teacher gave us a 30-minute nap time during second period after everyone literally fell asleep on our desks during break.  After a long, stressful week of Korean, I was really excited for the weekend.  Friday evening, I went with some friends to a hole-in-the-wall traditional Indian tea and wine bar.  We walked down a side street, turned a corner, went into a small door in the middle of the block, down a flight of poorly lit stairs with camels on the walls, and ended up in an ancient world, but cleaner.  We couldn't wear shoes and were seated on a raised platform booth lined with pillows around a center coffee-style table.  It was a really neat place and reminded me of movies about the Old Testament, minus the sparsely clothed harem.

Fortunately Took the Wrong Subway Exit

On Saturday morning, some friends and I met at the bus station for a weekend trip to Seoul!  We were definitely those foreigners who held up the line, and people were not happy.  Ah well...  I got on a bus in the middle of Korea and got off in America.  Seoul is incredibly similar to the US; it felt like walking around New York with different demographics.  Most people even spoke English!  Come to find out, Koreans actually come to my city (Jeonju) for a dose of their own culture.  Anyway, we arrived in time for lunch in the 10-story mall attached to the bus stop.  Afterward, Chris and I spent the afternoon getting lost on the subway, discovering free attractions like taekwondo performances and hanbok tents, and taking a super cheesy bus tour.  We met up with Nick, Mike, and Myra at the hostel in Hongdae and got ready for an awesome night out.  We started with a dinner of friend chicken and perused a street fair complete with live music and clowns on stilts.  We then made our way to the American neighborhood of Itaewon which is famous for its nightlife.

Myra isn't too sure about Chris's score keeping.

We cruised Itaewon for a bit, popping in and out of the various lounges, restaurants, and cafes.  We stopped in a sports bar for a while where we taught Myra how to play darts.  Itaewon was full of old people, though. It was kind of like wandering around with your parents, so we took a taxi back to Hongdae, which is situated in the middle of three universities.  We thought there would certainly be a hot spot there.  We arrived in about ten minutes and went down the first street we saw.  Apparently we were good guessers, because the place was jumpin' and everyone was around our age.  #winning  Side note: Korean girls really like American guys who can speak a bit of Korean.  Knowing simple phrases in Korean such as "Do you know this song?  It's American.  I'll teach you," can go a long way.

Never So Excited for a Big Mac

The next morning, I broke from the group to again test my survival skills.  I decided to set out by myself in search for some good souvenir shopping places.  A guide book gave me the name of a couple places that sounded promising, so I started off there.  Other than momentarily losing myself down a back street with a bunch of fan vendors, I got around pretty well and found a few neat things to buy.  Plus, I rekindled my relationship with McDonald's, and it was glorious.  That afternoon, I met back with the group at the bus station and headed to Jeonju.  After comparing stories about what everyone did, I realized that 28 hours is not enough time to even scratch the surface of Seoul.  With ten million people, every street and alley has a different story to tell and a new sight to see.  There is nowhere quite like Seoul.





Crazy Korean Discoveries:

1. Stairs are not a standard height, even within one flight.  Don't be fooled - the top stair may be 50% taller than the rest just to trip you up.
2. Taxi drivers are their own kind of crazy.  They will throw their automatic cars into neutral while driving.  This is not limited to stop lights or stop signs, either.  If they are going down a hill and are just feelin' it, that car is going into neutral.