First, updates.
Work is the same as always. I haven’t had an insurmountable amount of work but just enough to keep me on my toes and make sure I’m not leaving at some ridiculous hour every night. I have a new client who I won’t name yet but let’s say they are by far the hugest client I have ever been given. I see some long nights in the office on the horizon because of them but I guess it’s a good opportunity to show what I can do. I’ll keep people updated about my progress with them because something tells me my performance with this account will hold bearing over a lot of my career here for awhile.
Gym progress is also going well. I’ve started mixing my days and routines up a lot more so I’m about ready to take my workouts to the next level. I’ve also noticed quite a bit of physical change but I’m going to wait for people to see it for themselves when I get back in December.
Other than that, things are pretty much the same though I’ve picked up a few new hobbies and started a few old ones up again. I’ve started writing again which I haven’t done in quite a few years. Me and Jayce are planning on attending an open mic night sometime in the near future to give a brief live set which should be interesting. I’m also picking up painting, which is much more relaxing than I ever imagined. Other than that things, life is pretty much the same.
Oh, and I am also hereby declaring war on any and all things mosquito. I am going to kill you all you little bastards.
Now on to my “Why I love living in Korea” post.
1) There is ready to be consumed food EVERYWHERE at any hour of any day.
Seriously, anywhere you walk there are restaurants, little food pubs, food stands, etc. Plus it is cheap, dirt cheap. You would have to literally have your mouth removed to starve in Korea.
2) You can buy beer at a convenience store and drink it in front of said convenience store.
Yes, and they also set up chairs and tables for you to sit at no less. This is the common way for people to get together and drink when they are on a budget. The other cool thing about this is there is no such thing as public intoxication. I mean you would have to go stone cold Nicolas Cage from “Leaving Las Vegas” before the cops would even bat an eye in your direction. Not that I’ve ever taken part in anything like that mind you.
3) JimJilBang.
For 10,000 won (about 11 dollars) you can sit in a variety of hot bath tubs, swim in the cold bath pool, bake in a wide range of saunas, drink beers in the ice room, watch movies, eat, etc. all night and even sleep there. This is all in one building. I swear this is the idea of the century.
I’ll leave my list at that for now to give myself time to think about more things to add and people who are interested in asking questions about the stuff I’ve listed. There will be further lists in the future.
Last but not least, a happy belated birthday goes to my Father who just turned 49 again. Love you Dad.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
6 comments:
JimJilBank. They had something like that here at the late turn of the 20th century to the early 21st century. They closed them down due to the fact that they were not kept clean or they fell in disrepair. They were called public bath houses. Most homes did not have a "bathroom" like we do now. So, once a week sometimes more, whole families would go to these "bathhouse" to bath, socialize, etc. Some that existed as late as the 80's, were gay bathouses, (not all were gay bathhouses) until the threat of AIDS, which is when most of them closed down, offered the same thing. There is still one that I know of still operates somewhere on the north side. I don't know how much it would cost. It's suppose to be very cheap but I really don't want to know.
As far as the food is concerned, there is not a lot of open food stands also due to health reasons. It is not cheap to operate a late night food stand. You need a license to operate even the little "hot dog" stands. Between having to have a license and meeting the strict guidelines, it is not profitable to have. We used to have them here aplenty until the government stepped in and put in strict health guidelines licensing and taxes. How do you think all the immigrants, when this country was younger then it is now, made money to support their families? I would be careful when you buy anything from those stands because most of them are not clean. At least that is what they tell you on channel 11 travel documentries.
JimJilBang. Yep they are pretty much bath houses.
They are really common here and I'd say that most of the ones I have been to have been immaculate. There is a men and women's area obviously and families tend to congregate in the main area where they have the TV rooms, eating and sleeping areas. They are the perfect places to go to after a rough week at the office or when you need to unwind. I don't think the idea of a bath house as it is in Korea could exist in America due to the social stigma of standing around a bunch of strangers naked. It's a great idea here though.
As far as food stands, its really due to the outrageous licensing laws in Chicago that they don't exist anymore. While I believe a vendor does need a license to operate here, I'm sure they are nowhere near as expensive as they are in Chicago. Is channel 11 still owned by PBS? If that's the case I would take any of their warnings with a grain of salt; especially when it comes to other countries. I've been eating at the food stands here fairly regularly for over 3 years and I've never had anything bad happen to me (except for a hangover or two from the soju).
In any case, boo to Chicago's stupid licensing laws regarding food stands and bars. I remember the hot dog stand that used to be out on 31st and Parnell and those hot dogs were the fucking end all. I wish they brought them back.
So wait- you're making it sound like they inherited some of the same stuff as Japan (public drinking habits, public bathhouses, love for and quality of food, etc.) and kicked it up a notch... this I gotta see. I must say that benches (and maybe more trash cans) would be a welcome improvement, and I for one could get used to all-night onsens for $10. I really enjoy the places out here with the outdoor baths and masseuses and whatnot.
Are there two categories of bathhouse like in Japan? You know there are both onsens (hot springs) and sentos (public bathhouses more like your aunt describes)... and I guess pink salons too, but that's another can of worms. Oh, and yes it'd be nice if back home we didn't get hung up on... being in a can with a bunch of other worms.
All this sorta makes me wonder how much of it is culturally specific to the country and region, how much Korea inherited from Japan during the occupational period, how much they both inherited from China, and finally if Korean monkeys are as cool as Japanese monkeys.
Get back to me on that one.
Yeah they do have the 2 kinds of onsen like they do in Japan but the nicer of the two is harder to come by. If I remember correctly it's like that in Japan too, no? They also have hordes of pink salons here. Here is a funny little tidbit of information:
They have tons of these little sex shops all around Seoul and the way you recognize them is that they have two barbershop poles attached to them. Now this is how they attempt to "hide" the fact that they are sex shops but pretty much everyone with 2 brain cells to rub together knows about them. Except for women. I don't know if they consciously act unknowing about them, but I've argued with a few women who were actually oblivious of their true purpose. It was hilarious.
I'm currently reading some books about how Korea, Japan and China influenced each other. If I find any cool tidbits of information I'll drop 'em on here.
Finally, any monkey is a cool monkey or have you forgotten the monkey code?
I dunno... a monkey will beat no monkey every time, but I would have to argue that not all monkeys are created equal. I would, for example, take a spider monkey or that chimp they had doing Billy's Boot Camp on tv the other day over a Japanese monkey, as cool as it is that they hop in onsens with people when it's cold and all.
Then again, if any of the above was either drunk or swinging between two barbershop poles though, that's an automatic TKO.
Wonder where the 2 poles came from... I would think that meant something like your aunt's gay bathhouses. Or that two shops are clashing swords to fight for my business.
Oh, and of course the girls would deny it... I remember this J-girl that believed her man when he told her that he sleeps in the same bed with girls that are friends, but nothing happens. It's one of those times when it's convenience for them to be (or at least act) totally obtuse.
I have a soft spot in my heart for orangutans myself. One of the things on my list to do before I die is to get locked in a room with an orangutan for a weekend with nothing but a video camera and an unlimited supply of whiskey.
I am going to have to look up the history of the double barber pole thingie myself now. Something about perversion that intrigues me.
As for the "innocent" girls, my friend was dating a girl who was close to 30 who argued vehemently with him that those shops are actual barber shops. His response; "So where are all the guys who are supposedly getting haircuts and where are the bags of hair trimmings?". As soon as he said that, she saw the light.
I think you told me about that girl before. I find it somewhat distrubing that a person would be (act?) that unaware. And while I don't agree with the practice, I would have to give a kudos to the guy that got away with saying that. The odds of finding a girl that would be cool with that in the slightest are so mind-bogglingly small I couldn't begin to imagine it.
Post a Comment