It's been a quiet Friday. For me and for Seoul at large. This weekend is both Chuseok and Independence Day (I'd forgotten the latter until I saw flags flying from every streetlight), so things were definitely slow today. No mail, very little traffic, plenty of seats on the subway, and shuttered shops up & down the street. The pop music even stopped around 5 or 6. Having been home most of the day, that wasn't a second too soon. The corollary to the "don't travel this weekend" advice I often got was "it's really cool to be in Seoul at this time", and I agree. After 2 weekends in a row of nonstop action, I was ready to scale back a bit. Slept in today for the first time in 3 weeks, and spent the rest of my time reading (finally started Deathly Hallows; I'm on page 165 already), listening to NPR, and puttering. Made a brief sojourn to my mentor, Holly's apartment--it's like a real place, with cupboards and shelves and counters! She has a huge window, a view of trees, and no musical convenience store around. I'm envious, but also remembering that this is her second year, and her tales of last year's apartment are much more sobering, so I can take heart. Next year, I'll have storage, counters, and trees too. Holly made me lunch, chatted with me about teaching (as usual, I should have done less talking and more listening!), shared her lesson plans for this week, and even sent me home with a baggie of trail mix! I'm a bit overwhelmed by all the help & generosity I've received from both sides of the ocean while I've been here. It's helped SO much.
Yesterday was anything but quiet. Bolted from work to try to transfer money to my American bank, and mail stuff--succeeded with the mailing anyway. It would have been better if I'd done all of it earlier in the week, but if I haven't learned that lesson before now, what makes me think I'll suddenly change? Then dashed downtown to meet folks for a tour of Changdeokgung Palace, one of five in Seoul, and the first I've seen. Actually, it wasn't a tour at all...on Thursdays, you pay a lot more to have free run of the place. You get to poke your head into some places that usually aren't open, and see the full extent of the "secret garden", but the extra price and lack of interpretation make me think the usual tour would be preferable. After hearing of the vastness of this garden, I was expecting something like Versailles, but it was more like Ellison Park with Asian pavilions. Pretty nonetheless, and I'm never sorry for a chance to get away from concrete for a while. They had a Korean folk music variety show, so we got to sample the various instruments and singing styles of traditional Korean music. It was the first time I've heard the traditional stringed instrument, which name I don't remember, playing actual Korean stuff. Nothing I'd buy a CD of, but neat to get acquainted with.
In the absence of a guide, I wasn't able to do anything with the palace but walk around and take pictures...I really didn't get a sense of the place much. My friend Megan had taken the guided tour before, so she filled us in on what she remembered. I might need to visit museums on my own; I find it difficult to focus on the signs & absorb the information when others are around. It's interesting the way the rooms are all strung out and in different buildings so you have to go outside to get around--this in a country that sees winters not much different from ours. The whole place is like a sunporch, with walls of latticed doors, covered only with paper. It'd be great in the summer, but I don't know how they kept warm. Other than with floor heat--we saw the openings in the foundation where they'd stoke the fire. I'm not sure of the particulars of that, either. Everything's wood--the floors were a cool pattern, and the whole place had a delightful old-farmhouse smell. I don't know when floor heating was invented, or how they kept the whole place from immolating. The furnishings were pretty spartan. Obviously, they must have had more when the place was inhabited (and this one was until the 1980s), but I wonder whether it was as lavish as what you see in Europe. Plenty of palaces left to see; maybe I'll get some of my answers there. I can see how one might get palace fatigue--the architecture is strikingly similar in all the old buildings--but I'm definitely not there yet.
I was planning to go home after the palace, before heading to Itaewon later to see a band, but Megan was going right to Itaewon and I had nothing but pasta to eat at home, so I went with her. Itaewon is the international district, and while prices are determined based on the desperate and not-too-discerning foreigner, the options for something different are like siren song. Most of my compatriots have spent many a drunken night there; I've never done more than walk through once. We found a middle eastern place and happily tucked into hummus (pitas are extra; if you don't buy them...do you eat it with a spoon?) and falafel sandwiches. Mmmm Mmmm Mmmm! The place was run by Koreans, so I was worried that the falafel would have chili paste in it, but it tasted just exactly right. The hummus was essentially the falafel batter, but we were too enthralled with it to care. I knew we were in Itaewon because tax was extra and there was a tip jar.
After dinner, I tagged along with Megan to a pub where everyone speaks English and it was trivia night. Forgot I was in Korea until the American soldiers next to me lit their cigars inside and let them smolder all over us for 2 hours. I thought my team was putting down all the wrong answers, but turns out that was me. Guess I don't know so much after all. I was excited by the "where in the world" category, but most of the questions were sports-related. I did have one shining moment as the only person on my team who knew the song Ricky Nelson wrote after getting booed at a 1971 oldies show. It wasn't enough to save us, though--from the guys' reactions, I think it was a very bad night.
Left that pub for the concert venue. Was told the place was on Hooker Hill--"when you get to ------ intersection, just ask anyone with a crew cut where it is". Walked around wondering if I was in the right place, but when I reached Hooker Hill, there was no doubt. Once at the bar, though, I didn't see anyone I know, and being tired, and self-conscious in shorts, sneakers, & backpack, I decided to call it a night. Turns out I just missed Summer, but I'd had a full day anyway, and getting home while the subway was still running was a relief.
I actually talked to a middle-aged serviceman on the train--the first soldier I've exchanged words with. He assumed I was in the military too, and asked if I was a Ranger because I was skittering up the stairs with my backpack on. Fear of missing your train can give you the strength of 10 men, but another flight, and he would have been giving me CPR. Saw a few more of those Spam packs on the subway...the bag says "For Your Smile".
I've been reveling in my idle day, but I'm starting to get restless, and I remembered it's Friday night...time to get lost!
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