Sunday morning, homework still left over from missing a few days of classes from Ramadan struggles and an apparent lack of motivation after being bogged down by so many repetitive class hours. To make matters worse, it was the first time I missed the weekly blog update after returning late from the previous weekend’s Busan trip. Weekends are also something I guarantee to take some time to video chat with my parents. Homework, blog, and parents… what should I do? Probably debatable, but I think going to the 물총놀이축제 (Water Gun Festival) in Sinchon with Diallo was I’m only clear solution to the dilemma.
Two days of water gun fights to the proverbial death, we only took part in the second day. Nearly everyone alone Sinchon’s main streets were armed with shiny plastic weapons of mass hydration. Quickly getting our arms, it took a few seconds for strangers to start attacking us. Two more minutes in, soaking did not begin to describe how wet we already were. Although we were not the only foreigners in the crowd, it was astonishing the amount of people came up to outnumber us and shout, “Welcome to Korea!” while proceeding to drown us with their toy guns. Warm welcome, indeed, full of pent up against America, in particular. You could imagine we made friends quickly. But actually, we ended meeting up randomly with Albert, another Yalie, in the middle of the chaos. He and his sister, Julia, had already survived a day of water gun madness and came back for seconds. After duking it out against each other for a bit, we combined our forces to take on others. With support, I decided to counter all the previous ambushes by “Welcome to Korea!”-ing a bunch of locals myself. Of course, I decided to throw in some Korean phrases to astonish my momentary enemies before annihilating them. But if you thought locals and foreigners were the only people to partake in the festivities, you would be surprised to find out that multiple firefighters joined in with their trucks to quite literally bring down torrential-like rain on us. And no Korean festival is complete without some people breaking out to b-boy and up Korea’s reputation of swag. To make it more incredible, the dancers managed to perform all their choreographies while get soaked by the audience and having to deal with a slightly flooded street. The dancers were so ballsy that some of them did their routines barefoot. As the aesthetic is a cornerstone of Korean society, you should not be surprised to find out that wet T-shirt contest-esque moments occurred with models perform in quite revealing outfits on top of the giant Sprite-platform in the middle of it all.
At first, I considered why the USA couldn’t have such a ridiculously fun festival. Then, the rationale hit pretty quick. A festival like this couldn’t exist in the states without getting somewhat violent or grotesque. To be quite frank, yes, the Koreans do drink quite heavily and are not the best at holding their liquor. Nevertheless, formalities have a strong presence in the culture as made apparent by the ability of people who were not partaking in the festival to somehow manage to get through without getting soaked. If you, the reader, have ever been to a music festival in America, you have an idea of how revealing and rough-house American patrons can be. Picture that but with less concert stages and more pools and wet platforms.
Yeah…
Well, Monday marked the finally night of Ramadan for those who observe the holy month. I could not begin to contain my excitement to finally attempt to be back on a normal sleeping schedule of sorts. Nevertheless, the month is always a fitting time for reflection, much of which was done in relation to being away from both my family and a Muslim community. Last year, when I fasted while researching at Yale, I had the company of other Yalies in town that also were observing. A tad different from home but sharing traditions with my own brethren made the holiday pleasant away from family. Now, without a substantial community nearby or any family Eid ul-Fitr felt relatively lonely.
Fortunately, the company of two classmates to celebrate my first legit lunch in a month made up for it. Admittedly, the lunch could also be considered business as 미키 (Miki, 三木) and 사키 (Saki, サキ) were both from Japan, Okinawa (沖縄, 오키나와 in Korean) and Kobe (神戸, 코베 in Korean), respectively. My trip to Japan is imminent and I know preparation and guidance is necessary. Best scenario: learn from the locals. And from what I learned so far is that I am glad to have learned Korean before Japanese, first. Although I am eager to learn the language of the Land of the Rising Sun, plenty of Japan is pricier to the Land of the Morning Calm. Further, when reading with Korean, 한자 (Chinese characters) can appear every now and then, with Japanese, one can often be found reading Kanji, Hiragana, and Katakana all within the same damn sentence. I am glad to know a future tense doesn’t exist to trip me up with Japanese, but like damn, Japan, go easy on me. Outside of the prices and reading, Japan’s train system although rapid can be quite confusing. I’ll definitely use my trip to test those waters a bit before potentially (highly likely) returning for a longer stretch of time. (READ: Stoked to finally go to Japan!)
In regards to Japan, the middle of my itinerary is occupied by one thing: Mt. Fuji (富士山, 푸지산 in Korean). Like a number of others, when the “Bucket List” first came out, I was inspired to design my own. Fortunately, I feel proud to say I have already managed to cross a few things off the list and once I summit Fuji-san, the list will shrink by one more. But unlike some of the peaks I reach along the Northeast and in Korean, Mt. Fuji peaks at around 36xx m, altitudes I’ve only been used after jumping out of a plane (anyone reading who hasn’t skydived yet, should clear their next weekend’s plans to go). I would need to up my hiking gear a bit especially if I planned on night-hiking. Luckily, Fuji-san is not arduous like Korean mountains by having ridges and climbing walls littered over every trail, but the effects the altitude and the weather that accompanies it was something I do not plan on besting me.
For outdoorsy folk, Korea acts both as a haven and practice field with mountains littering every nook and cranny and hiking stores littering the spaces between those corners. However, in Seoul, there are a few key neighborhoods to get hiking gear without damaging your wallet like the rest of Korean clothes’ shopping. 남대문(Naedaemun), which I have mentioned earlier in my blog, is a great place to shop for various goods quite affordable prices. 동대문 (Dongdaemun), where I practice dance, also has a night market to die for (I’ll update you guys when I get my own visit in), also offers great deals for various hiking goods along with a number of other goods like Namdaemun. 종로5가 (Jongno-5-ga) became my target destination to shop after my final day of observation at Rudolph (I’m going to miss those kids *tears*) on Thursday. Little did I know, Jongno-5-ga is also home to 광장시장 (Kwangjang Market).
Like what!? Immediately after finding a good place to purchase my extra hiking goods, I returned to the market. Meats, spices, and fabrics galore. The smells reminded of all the other lovely markets I experienced before. Every time I pop into one, the world feels right. A number of makeshift shops also offered a little treat I had not had in ages since being away from home: 닭발 (chicken feet). Admittedly, it comes off sounding very strange, but if there’s one stereotype I find okay being thrown around is that Asian people eat everything. A relatively accurate claim but for, on occasion (I’m looking at you Naengmyeon), good reason; a lot of Asian is pretty damn delicious. Chicken feet also are very much enjoyed by those of Bangali persuasion, as made evident by the child-like joy that erupts from me each time I have the pleasure of having some. Along with some 감자전 (potato pancake) and 미역국 (seaweed soup), I felt like I feasted like a king!
Friday, marked my last extra day off from Ewha due to some administrative reason. Thanks to Diallo’s host-family, Diallo and I used the opportunity to head to the 정동진 독립 영화제 (Jeongdongjin Independent Film Festival) in 강릉 (Gangneung). Check out our experience in a separate blog post!
