Days 3/4

May 16th, 6:30 PM.

Finally gathering the energy and patience to update my blog. Every day is an exciting and exhausting adventure that quickly turns yesterday's memories into the vague, distant past. Everything is one big blur, and it's a good thing I have this time to reflect and peel the memories off from one another.  

Okay, let's think. Yesterday morning I woke up at 3AM again. Spencer and I went to Dunkin' Donuts for breakfast, and the group took off at 11:45 to go hiking up Bukak Mountain. Unfortunately there aren't many pictures from the hike because they weren't allowed on the majority of it--the view overlooks the Blue House and apparently there are concerns about assassination attempts. The hiking trail is beautiful and the view of the city is incredible, lessened only slightly by the armed soldiers scattered along the trail. I can count the number of times I've seen a gun in person on one hand--even in the hands of these soldiers they made me very uncomfortable. Even though it would be cool, a part of me is glad we're not visiting the DMZ for this reason. Anyway, hiking along the old city wall felt remarkably similar to walking along the Great Wall in China, except it was much less steep and (to my disappointment) there was no way to slide down when you reached the top. Needless to say I was quite tired by the end of it since I'd been up since 3AM and I'm sick... when we got back to ground level, my legs wouldn't stop shaking involuntarily. It was an excellent group bonding experience, though.

We got back in the evening and had about an hour to recuperate before we headed out to the Yonsei Festival. There was lots of food, alcohol, and performances, and it seemed awesome, but Spencer and I had to go home at 9:30 because we were so exhausted. I'm gradually becoming suspicious that CGIS has some kind of strategy for keeping students from going out drinking that involves forcing them to do so much during the day that they have absolutely no energy left for night life. 

This morning we got going around 10:30. We had waffles for breakfast--they were amazing, but I could feel my cholesterol rising as I ate it. We spent most of the day in none other than the Gangnam District, which matches my vision of Seoul much more closely than Sinchon or Hongdae. We took a tour of the Samsung building and checked out some of the awesome architecture in the area before stopping for lunch. Everyone else ate fish soup but I had bibimbap for the first time (I can't believe I made it this far without trying it!). Afterward we walked around the high fashion, shopping area of Gangnam which is exactly what it sounds like. 

 Once we started walking down this road people started looking abruptly more attractive, and it didn't take long to realize why: every other building was a plastic surgery clinic. We saw many women with bloody and bandaged faces being guided around by friends, and many of us were unsure what to say or how to feel about the phenomenon. My gut reaction was that it feels superficial and wrong. My secondary reaction was sympathy: it's sad that these people feel obligated to go through a painful and invasive surgery just so they can neatly box themselves up into a narrow standard of beauty. After talking about it for a while, though, I decided that plastic surgery is just a symptom of consumer culture, one that is not unique to Gangnam or even Korea. The same culture exists in the U.S. but just tends to express itself through other means. (Although plastic surgery certainly has its American clientele, mostly middle-aged women trying to look younger). Teens suffering for double-eyelids in Korea is the exact same as teens suffering for straight teeth in America. What's the difference between blowing $1,000 on some silicone and blowing it in a tanning booth? 

People love to hate women who achieve beauty through plastic surgery, and they love to celebrate women who possess "natural" beauty, but this way of thinking makes no sense to me. If anyone deserves credit for being beautiful (which they don't, because beauty is culturally constructed and not what a person's value should hinge on) it seems like women who have gone through plastic surgery deserve it more because they have gone through suffering to achieve their goal. Criticizing these women as shallow makes little sense: we have different cultural standards for what is "normal" and what is "going too far," the truth is that we all care about our appearances and are willing to go to varying lengths to "improve" them based on our cultural norms. If I grew up in Gangnam, I'd probably be lining up for plastic surgery with the rest of them.

Anyway, it's time for Elise to take a nap. Still waiting for a day when I feel normal and not like I'm floating through a semi-conscious dream. Starting to miss everyone back home and hope you're all doing well.

Day 2

A little late on this post. We took the subway back to the hostel around 9:45 last night and we were all exhausted by that time. I still haven't gotten on a regular sleeping schedule even though it seems like everyone else is waking up around 7 or 8 now; by the time night rolls around my body basically just shuts down. I'm getting sick, too, so I decided to take today off running and use every medicine I can out of what is essentially a pharmacy in my suitcase. Hopefully I can make a quick recovery and adapt to the time change soon.

We didn't get going until 11:45 yesterday so I had about 8 hours on my own before then. I ran through campus again in the morning and stumbled upon the art school of Ewha Women's University where there were all these unfinished sculptures out on the sidewalk. Spencer and I had breakfast in a cafe near our hostel where we made the very dangerous decision to pay $3 each for real coffee (hopefully that's not a slippery slope because it tasted amazing). We window shopped on our own in the morning, mostly just through clothing and make-up stores. There are tons of skin care stores around here and some of the products are extremely expensive: we saw a tiny bottle of anti-wrinkle cream that cost over $100. They also have facial masks made of "snail essence." I can't imagine who the first person was to look at snail slime and think "Ah, yes, I think I'll put that on my face," but apparently it was a good idea.

After shopping we headed out with the group for lunch and ran into the cast from the variety show "Running Man," which I'd never heard of before. They must be really popular, though, because there were a lot of people crowded around the bus and even some Americans from our group knew who they were. We had lunch at a vegan restaurant, which was great for me, and I ate Jajangmyeon, which I've wanted to try since we watched "Castaway on the Moon." I ate it a couple times in Beijing but it wasn't very good; I think the Korean version is much better.

After lunch we took a bus to Yonsei's international campus where we met up with some Korean students. I was extremely impressed by the fact that almost all of them spoke perfect or near-perfect English because one girl told me that only about half of them had studied abroad. I have a lot of respect for people who can become fluent in foreign languages without leaving home because it requires so much dedication and initiative.

We sat in on a freshman Asian Studies course where Professor Ahn gave a lecture on Buddhism. He discussed the history of Buddhism and some of the legends on which it was based in India as well as some meanings of Buddhist symbols. What I found most interesting was the discussion on the problematic nature of labels and categories. Professor Ahn argued that Buddhism as a tradition does not have an unchanging core and that the category is not altogether useful when discussing religion. Because different sects of Buddhism disagree over even the most fundamental tenants of the tradition, it is difficult to place them all under the same umbrella category. In the same way, though, most categories can be understood as equally arbitrary and not useful. In our daily lives, we work under the assumption that the boundaries that separate one category from another are real and can be easily explained, but whenever we think critically about it we realize it is nearly impossible to do. Intellectually, I am very aware of this, but interestingly, I continue to live daily life under the assumption that categories are universal and can be separated. I think this is a good example of the tension between trying to see things for what they really are and trying to live a practical life that many people seem to experience.

After the students presented about cool places to visit in Seoul, we headed out for what was probably the nicest restaurant I've ever walked into in my life. I couldn't believe how much food there was; I kept thinking the meal was over but the waiters just kept on clearing empty dishes and bringing out more food. There weren't a lot of vegetarian options but I still enjoyed the experience of having an amazing dinner in a private room with friends, and honestly just looking at the food was enough for me. I kept feeling twinges of guilt about wasting about 20% but know from waiting tables in the States that this is by no means just a "Korean" phenomenon.

After dinner we went to Sejong Center and watched an amazing dance performance that bordered on acrobatics. I couldn't believe how effectively these performers bodies could communicate without language; I've never seen anything like it. Maybe I was just having a lot of feelings because I was exhausted, but I found the performance very emotionally moving. Seeing others fulfill so much of their capacity as humans both physically and emotionally was also very humbling.

Anyway, I think we're going hiking soon so I should probably end here. It still hasn't fully hit me that I'm on the other side of the planet and I can't believe how lucky I am to be here. Can't wait for more adventures.

Day 1

Woke up this morning at 3:30AM. If I was smart I would have forced myself back into a restless sleep, but it seemed impossible: my body was wired and my eyelids felt like they were duct-taped open. Instead I spent the morning browsing through other people’s travel blogs, slowly beginning to understand the magnitude of the bad Seoul-related pun problem. To anyone reading this, I apologize on these writers’ behalf and promise to never, ever subject you to that.

At 6:40 I went on a run through Ewha Women’s University. It’s really hilly back there but the air was surprisingly clean. In general, there are randomly scattered patches of plants, trees, and flowers throughout the city, but Ewha and Yonsei are particularly green. I just learned today that Christian missionaries founded both Ewha University and Yonsei University. There are lots of churches and crosses around, but Nora (a Ph.D student who’s traveling with us) told me that only about 20% of Koreans are Christians; it just seems like more because they’re so vocal. 

We went back to Ewha with the whole group after everyone had showered, and I had a chance to learn more about contemporary marriage practice. It seems like the Chinese “jia nv ding nan” (date up/date down) marriage norm is also fairly prevalent in Korea. I can’t say I’m that surprised, but I really wish I knew more about gender in Korea.

From the campus we took the subway to Hongdae, an awesome area with tons of food and shopping. We had lunch at a restaurant where you grill your own food on the table, and since everyone else had grilled beef I decided I should just quit being a vegetarian and give it a try. Just kidding. I ate some vegetarian kimbap that Professor Ahn ordered for me earlier. I have yet to attempt to order a vegetarian meal for myself in Korea and am dreading that inevitable moment.

Next we took the subway to Yeoeuido Island where we rented bikes. I tried tandem biking for the first time with Spencer and it was super fun! It was a great way to explore the area along the river and to stay awake during the afternoon. Afterward, we went to the Noryangjin fish market, which is basically the scariest place in the world. I’m actually sort of afraid of fish that aren’t in the ocean; especially domesticated ones, and this guy really abruptly killed a giant fish right in front of me that everyone later ate. I felt really bad for the fish because it was really trying hard not to die. Then I remembered that this fish is no different from other fish or other animals; that animals have to be killed like this every time we eat meat, not just the times when we witness it. Maybe it’s good to be reconnected with that fact.

We got back to the hostel a couple hours ago. I’m exhausted but I feel like it’s too early to go to bed if I don’t want to wake up before dawn tomorrow. Don’t feel much like writing now and Spencer’s already knocked out in the bed next to me. I’m starting to get waves of nausea/dizziness again, so it’s probably time to go to bed now.