Ferris Buddha's Day Off

(it moves the clouds over by the building)

Today is Buddha's birthday. My research tells me he'd be over 2500 years old now, if he wasn't reclining (or sitting cross-legged, or whatever he's into these days) peacefully off in Nirvana. But Nevermind the specifics (and the terrible pun), all I know for sure is that I get the day off from work. I wonder if Buddha realized that he'd share birthday celebrations with Queen Victoria?

Of course, not unlike May 24 weekends back in Canada, my mid-week day-long vacation was a rainy one. That's not an altogether terrible thing though, as I'm practically bedridden with a cold again anyway. It was a fine excuse not to leave the cool comfort of my dry, air-conditioned room. But I did buy an umbrella to brave the rainfall. I think it's actually the 400th umbrella I've had since I got here. They're so cumbersome, cheap, and easily lost that they're practically disposable.

The one I got today was a plain clear one. These things are really popular in Japan, and after walking around with one today, I see why. It's nice to be able to see through to the beading rain that you're happy isn't drenching your clothes. It's the walking equivalent of a sunroof. A cheap plastic sunroof that you only use when it's rainy, that is.

I actually really like the look of a wet city; particularly at night, when you get to see the bright lights all upside down and blurry confused in the pavement. A city lined with bright neon puddles of every colour must be a terrible distraction while driving, but as a damp pedestrian on the Seoul streets, they're a wonderful diversion.

I also used my day off for something a little useful, and I finally compiled the little bit of video footage I had from my trips to Thailand and Japan. My still cameras have certainly gotten more use than my video in the last year, but I still take it along on trips around Asia.

You can check out the video here, as usual.

The weather was considerably nicer this weekend, and I took advantage of it with an aimless, lengthy bike ride around Seoul. I made a long loop and rode to the area where I work, then back home, snapping a few pictures along the way.

I even saw the first case of true punch-the-other-driver road rage I've ever seen in Seoul. People here are quite liberal with the horn, and there are generally quite a few insane drivers all-round, but that's apparently part of the culture; not to mention part of the fundamentally rushed atmosphere of Korea. I guess one of the inevitable parts of being in such a big city is that you're bound to see a bit of everything. Whatever the altercation was about, they seemed to settle it with a bit of manhandling, shouting, and obstructing traffic.

That evening I fought what was my approaching illness enough to go out with Mike, whose brother is in Seoul for a couple of weeks. It was a short evening for all, but a decent opportunity to meet Mini-Mike.

Sunday night I did a bit of photographing, just to capture some of the places and things I see every day. The practically mundane things that'll help remind me of this place in a month or so when I leave. I'm not even sure if I remember what it's like to not see people everywhere. Even at night, even on quiet streets, it's never completely empty here.

Speaking of common, quiet things that I rarely get to experience here, I actually saw stars a few nights ago. Well, maybe one star and the moon. In fact, the star could very well have been a planet. But the point is, the lights are so bright here, and the air so thick that the night sky is rarely filled with anything but a dim moon and perpetual city glow. It's nice to see anything celestial clearly.

Last week I forgot to mention that a Jill (a friend from home) is here to visit Cahill for a few weeks. They met me in Seoul and I showed them a bit of the city. We went to Youngsan to get her a camera, then off to Dongdaemun to see the market and river and all that - all some of the cool Seoul things that I've seen a few times now.

What I hadn't seen before was this wildly fun-looking bungee-cord trampoline contraption that enabled scared kids to jump like fucking Mario Brothers. The looks on their faces was hilarious - a constant look of pure fright and excitement as adults stretched giant rubber bands to fling them weightlessly into the air.

I really think it's short-sighted of them not to have one of these calibrated for adults, too. I wanna be frightened and excited and twenty feet in the air, too, dammit!

To close out the week, I'm sharing a bit of Koreana that I've patronized a few times now. Lotteria is Korea's take on McDonald's. For the most part, it's pretty standard fare - a fast food joint with burgers and drinks and shakes and the lot. And of course, the menu offers such standards as shrimp burgers and squid burgers. When you combine Korean food with food from another country, they normally call it 'fusion food'. In this case, I just call it fucked up.

A little scared of any sort of formerly-swimming patty, I opted for the European Frico burger, which basically has a large, flat mozza stick instead of a cheese slice. Yeah, it tastes even more deliciously unhealthy than you imagine.



And since I'm on the topic of confusingly un-enticing food combinations, here's a pack of tiny dried fish that came as a promotional item with a bottle of Cass Red - the newest and most potent beer to hit Korea. If the prospect of higher alcohol content didn't incite me to buy the beer (which it did) I really don't think a package of slowly rotting fish would.

You know, I probably don't give Korea a fair chance here. Sure, I love it here, and I make little attempt to hide that. But I also make fun of it, and to see a country purely through the lens and mind of a foreigner trying to funny probably gives a pretty skewed perspective. In the interest of fairness, here's a look at how Koreans see us. Surely a society so heavily influenced by and interested in western culture would have a pretty clear picture of the strange lands to the west, right?

Well let's see here...



Hmm, blond hair, gambling, rock music, American flags, cowboys, skateboards, and loud boomboxes.

Shit, that's actually a pretty accurate portrayal right there.