Pack your bags, we're goin' to the jew. Before you get angry, let me
explain. The Korean language does not have the 'z' sound, so 'zoo' often
sounds like 'jew.' It took about 10 minutes of listening to my students
talk about jews, to realize they meant zoos.
Anyway,
back to the story. The Seoul Zoo is located inside a magical land called
Seoul Grand Park. It not only has a zoo, but a museum, amusement park,
lake, 2 sky rides, and a rose garden - all located within the gorgeous
hills just outside of Seoul. I hadn't expected any of this as my sky
ride seat came over the first hill and I was in awe. Que: camera. I
always take several pictures of these sorts of views because I like to
have options for later...and it turns out that some of my options hold
more than just a beautiful view. I managed to capture on film, two
things that are very hard for me to describe to people who have never
seen it. And I shall share them with you now.
1. The Korean Couple Fight
This
sight is not uncommon in the cities of Korea. I have seen several
screaming matches late at night when everyone is wandering home from the
bars. But more importantly, I have seen these fights happen in broad
day light when the couple is (presumably) sober. For reasons unknown to
me, coffee shops are a popular place to witness such an event, and these
sorts of fights are easy to spot from a mile away. The female is always
sitting, tight lipped and arms crossed, as far away as she can be from
her boyfriend without being at the next table, in complete and utter
silence. The male is usually sitting there trying thinking of the right
thing to say. Occasionally he will say something and when it is returned
with silence he goes back into the depths of his mind for something
else to say. (I know it doesn't sound a whole lot different from the fights American
couples have, but I have never seen this frequency of silent fights in
all my years in CO.) The following picture is one of the most unfortunate places that I can think of to have one of these fights.
2. The Korean Gawk
As
a foreigner in a strange land, it took some time to get used to the
stares you can get from some people. Over time, maybe I forgot about it
or learned how to ignore it, but either way I don't notice it as often
as when I first got here. It is a part of my existence in Korea. There
are a wide range of looks you can receive as a foreigner here, but the
one you receive the most is the hardest to describe. I guess I would say
it is neither angry nor excited or surprised. And the best part about
it is that the stare-er doesn't look away, even if caught by the
stare-ee. As far as the following picture goes, I guess I should concede
that three white girls might have been quite a sight on the sky ride
that day, so can you blame them?
I would like to thank the two couples in the pictures for
providing me with an unexpected source of blogworthiness and amusement. And I would like to thank you for reading!
hahahahhahaha. i laughed out loud so hard at this one.
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