After class on Monday, I went back to the Kukkiwon Taekwondo arena. This time, I was able to find the Taekwondo museum and took a look around. I couldn't read anything besides the word Taekwondo, so I can only guess that the museum was talking about the history of Kukkiwon and competitive taekwondo.
I also ended up back at the official Kukkiwon arena. Again, the demo team was practicing, but this time, there were many other spectators. They were all taking pictures, so I assumed it was okay if I did the same. The practice looked pretty intense, but all of the athletes appeared to be having fun. I have some awesome videos I want to post, but Blogger is giving me problems getting them uploaded. I guess this picture will have to work instead.
Then I went back to another cat cafe. My phone was running low on battery, so I didn't get as many pictures as last time, but here are the few I got!
Tuesday, we ended class early to learn about the traditional Korean tea ceremony. Two of our classmates dressed up in the traditional Hanbok to demonstrate the tea ceremony. After, we all got to enjoy some tea and assorted cookie snacks. I was very surprised that the cookies were deep fried; of all of the places for me to encounter deep fried food, a traditional Korean tea house was not my first guess. The ceremony is very tedious and has many specific steps. If a mistake is made, it is disrespectful and I guess the tea doesn't brew properly (looks like my method of microwaving the tea leaves and water at the same time isn't quite right....).
After the tea ceremony, I had a quick lunch with some classmates, then headed off to see one of the few remaining temples in Seoul. FIrst, I stopped at the COEX mall to have a better look around. Last time I was there, I didn't really get to see anything besides the aquarium. It reminded me a lot of the shopping malls in the US, except this one was just a lot bigger. Then, I went to the Bonguensa Temple. I didn't know what to expect because I've never been to a Buddhist temple before, but I was surprised to see that the temple is still an active temple used by the people of Korea. The temple is located at the base of a mountain, which provides a majestic setting for all of the temple buildings, shrines, and Buddha statues. While the temple itself is in the middle of the big city, inside it feels like it is miles away from the bustling city life (or I guess I should say kilometers since that's the measurement they use here). A path leads back into the mountain from the temple, and I ended up taking that hike, although it was a little bit unintentional.
After visiting the temple, I went to the Seonjeongneung tombs. It was really peaceful there, and of course I got to see two of the tombs from Joseon dynasty. The burial site is huge, and while the tombs themselves aren't huge, they are built on top of large hills that make them appear much larger than they otherwise would.
Later, I met one of my classmates at a cafe, where we studied for our quiz the next day. We have quizzes every day or every other day, so it's always necessary to be studying the vocabulary for that unit.
Wednesday was a very tired, slow day. We were all struggling to make it through class, which was unfortunate because we went over a bunch of new grammar in those four hours. After a quick, uneventful lunch, I met with my language partner. She was very patient in helping me review the grammar that we had learned. She even taught me the grammar that we briefly went over at the end of the day that I didn't understand at all. We both had to laugh because I was reading a sentence out of my book in Korean, and I just had to stop because I didn't have any idea what was going on. I am so grateful to have her help because otherwise I'm not sure I would be understanding everything as well as I am now. She is patient and always ready to help me with what I need to practice, even when I ask her to help me with basic skills like reading the vocabulary words.
After we studied, we spent a while talking about the cultural differences between American people and Korean people. Korean people are very kind and friendly, but they often appear more cold by American standards. They do not make eye contact when walking down the street or standing in an elevator. Unless people already know each other, they don't speak when they pass on the sidewalks, and just stand quietly in an elevator, often facing away from the other occupants. Whenever I need to ask a Korean person for help, however, they are always willing to try their best to offer assistance, even with the prominent language barrier. When I am at a cafe, I see Korean people there with friends or family, and they are so lively and loud with their company. Americans, at least where I live, on the other hand, will often say hello as they pass on the streets, or at least provide some sort of acknowledgement to each other. Then, depending on who you ask for help, some people are more friendly, while others are in too big of a hurry to stop and help.
I think that there are pros and cons about each cultural style. It's much easier to approach someone in America when you don't know them, but on the other hand, here in Korea, I never have to worry about people trying to talk to me. We all just mind our own business. Although I am frequently the only obvious foreigner, nobody stares or wants pictures like they did while I was in China. The Korean culture in that regard is very different than the American culture that I've observed.
I've also noticed that in Korea, there are always many people passing out flyers by the subways. They never try to give me, or any other obvious foreigner, the papers. My Chinese, Korean, and Korean American friends are always having to dodge the flyers and salespeople, but I, along with my Russian, German, and American friends are always left alone. We've actually started a "Perks of being an obvious foreigner in Seoul." So far, it includes 1) not being bombarded with sales people and advertisements in the subways and 2) never having to bother taking out your passport to prove that you're a foreigner.
After I finished meeting with my language partner, I was very tired, so I went back home. I went with my host mother to take Tom to his academy. Academy is extra school that Korean children go to until they graduate high school. I have never met or heard of a child here not attending academy. The school system seems so taxing, and I hope that the kids actually have time to enjoy themselves between all of the school and studying and academy!
Since this post is getting pretty long, I'm going to go ahead and end it here. Usually I like to end on more of an interesting note, but I've probably said enough as it is. The next few days are coming soon!
PS, here's a picture of me with my brother Batman at the wax museum. I forgot to put it up in the last post. Enjoy :P
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