Thursday, December 28, 2006

so this is my third day in korea. so far its been a trip. im still getting used to the culture and whatnot, but i think i'll be fine after a week or two.

i arrived here tues morning after a long 15 hour Korean Air flight. Korean Air (KAL) is an amazing airline. all the stewardesses are so nice, thin, tall, and pretty. they are really accomodating and amazing at their job. i hate flying in general, but the airline gave me the best experience ever. i highly endorse KAL if any of you guys are ever thinking of traveling to korea.

so i arrived here first thing in the morning on tues and my friend and her dad picked me up from the airport. i feel extremely lucky to her and her family because they treated me like a family member for the time i was with them. they live in ilsan, which is about an hour away from seoul by train and i guess it's like living in queens. i take a 2 hour nap when i get to their house, and then my friend's parents take me, my friend, as well as a friend of my friend to the DMZ. man, it was such a moving experience. we did the whole tour of all the museums and things there, and one thing that was pretty fun was walking in the '3rd tunnel.' in the 70s and 80s, south korea discovered 4 tunnels that the north koreans made under the dmz that go into south korea and close to seoul. its about 250 km deep, and it was pretty scary. another thing we went to was this looking point, which is the northern most part of south korea to look into north korea. the view was amazing and sad at the same time. there's an observation deck and you can look into binoculars and see all the villages and houses that are fake facades. everything is empty and you don't see a single person in sight. the whole thing was very moving.

after that my friend's family took me out to eat dinner at this restaurant that specializes in puffer fish. the soup was pretty good, but i felt really awkward about sitting to have a meal with them.

the thing is, i've noticed that this whole country is OBSESSED with weight and looks. all they talk about is losing weight, how to lose weight, what to eat, what not to eat, etc etc. now this is fine, but they talk about it in such neurotic and annoying ways, to the point where i just want to tell them to stfu. seriously, it gets old after awhile. and then after they talk about how theyre fat and have to lose weight and whatnot, they eat a fried ham and cheese sandwhich with globs of mayo, ketchup, and thousand island dressing in it.

but yes, i can not stress how crazy korean culture is about weight. my friend said that in the korean vocab, words for 'eating disorders, bulimia, & anorexia' don't exist. i thought that was pretty interesting. and everywhere you go, and watch on tv, there's ads with 1/2 naked people. and mann, the way girls dress here is insane. it's the middle of winter and you can't go 10 steps without seeing a girl in a miniskirt with high boots on. it's madness! and none of them are fat. seriously theyre all freaking sticks here.

another thing ive noticed about the culture is people are kind of rude. i dont know i guess i really cant explain it, and its different than ny rude, but i dunno it kind irks me. i just think overall that korean girls in korea have really bitchy attitudes.

so i'm staying at a hasuk in Gang Nam, which ive been told is a really upscale neighborhood. there are bars and restuarants everywhere, and at night the streets are lined with thousands and thousands of young people. last night my cousin timmy showed me around these neighborhoods and we went to a few bars.

so at one of the bars last night, i came out to my cousin. it was really hard for me, probably the hardest person i've come out to yet. but i knew i had to do it nonetheless, i couldnt stand the thought of spending 3 months here and not telling him. at first he was shocked and couldn't believe. he thought i was fucking around and initially even said that he doesn't want to believe it. but then he realized i wasn't kidding, and we talked and talked about it for the rest of the night. i really love him, and appreciate the fact that he's accepted me for who i am.

right now i rode the subway to hongdae and have been walking around alone for the past hour or so. i love walking around by myself and exploring the city. i'm at a seedy pc bang because i can't seem to get an internet connection on my computer, and cant even charge it because i havent been able to find a power adaptor. my camera, comp, and ipod are all pretty much out of batteries. i havent been taking as many pics as i would like, but i'm going to try.

i'll post the good ones up here, for the enjoyment of anyone who actually reads this, but also for me so i can read back on it a year from now.

okay, bye world.

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