Quick Update and a Promise

So this will be a short entry.

In less than 24 hours I will land in Taiwan, and officially start my summer vacation. It was badly needed as work was starting to get to me. It's been 5 months since I moved to Korea. Crazy. By the time it's by birthday next month, I'll have been here for half a year. That means I'll be halfway through my contract already! How time flies. Oh, and I'll be 23. I'm old. Jeez.

Oh, also, I will thankfully not be alone in Taiwan. I found out a guy I went to high school with had recently moved to Taiwan, and he does not start work for a while. He also happens to be in a hostel that is within walking distance from the hostel I'm staying at. He and I will be travel buddies (and he's nice enough to come and pick me up at the airport), so that worked out nicely!

I promise to post up pictures of my trip to Jeju Island when I come back from Taiwan. And of course I'll have a Taiwan entry at some point. Although I do need to put a disclaimer that the Jeju pictures will include pictures of Love Land (a sex-themed sculpture park). The sculptures are VERY risque, so if you're at work and reading this I will suggest that when you get to the Jeju entry you wait to look at the pictures when you get home or something.

Happy travels!

-AALA

K-pop Part 2 (and some other songs)

As I've said, I've been getting into the K-pop scene. I've also got a few non-Korean foreign songs on my iPod (stuff I heard in the clubs and that I wanted for myself. But first to the K-pop!

Yelena was talking about a dance that she liked by a boy band called Super Junior. The song is called Sorry Sorry. She liked to dance to it in the clubs. There are a few videos circulating for this song (I guess the group made a few for the same song), but below is the one I like by far. I think it is very well done, and showcases the group's dancing talents. Big kudos to the choreographer.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AAWqnA8PdcY

This next song is by a Korean named Rain. Now, I didn't specifically say "singer" for Rain because Rain happens to be a multi-facted performer. He's a big movie star and singer in Korea, among other things. He's also pretty well known internationally. I'll let his Wikipedia page do the talking here.
But anyway, I heard this song a few times in different eating establishments, and after obsessively trying to find it I found "Hip Song." If you have any knowledge of music whatsoever you will somewhat recognize the melody that permeates the song; I've heard the original song it's ripped off from in commercials. I know it's an extremely old song (for some reason Wagner keeps popping up in my head, even though I'm sure it's wrong), but I just can't put my finger on it! If you know it tell me so I can stop obsessing! Anyway, here it is (note that it's not the music video as I can't find one, but just the audio):

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R1cndDkRb5o&feature=related

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Now, to the non-Korean songs I got into. The first one is a Russian song that I hear a lot in the club, and Yelena (being Russian) was able to send it to me. It's called "Volna" by DJ Smash.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I7hSoYt10cM&feature=related

The second is one that I somewhat regret liking, but it's just so damn catchy. I also heard it in the club. It's called "Iran Iran" by Arash. From what I read it's dedicated to the Iranian soccer team. I definitely feel like dancing when I hear it (and the Iranians at the club go absolutely NUTS for this song). I have heard 2 slightly different versions. The other also has DJ Alligator, and it actually has the word "football" put into the song. This version with DJ Alligator is the one I have on my iPod. However, I could not find that version so, alas, you will have to be content with the one sans DJ Alligator and the word "football."

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L_1maePHaZk

Enjoy!

-AALA

Miscellaneous Update

I received the notice from the Foreign Service. As expected I did not pass, but I have already faxed the company that administers the test so I can receive details on how I did on each section. I should be prepared next year.

I leave for Jeju Island this weekend. I am very excited to get to the beach. I heard it is very beautiful. This will be only my second time taking a trip outside of the Seoul metro area for more than a few hours. And in about 2.5 weeks I have my summer vacation in Taiwan! I found out a former high school classmate just moved there, so now I have someone to at least hang out with for even just a bit. I am much more at ease now. And yesterday I bought tickets to the Philippines for my vacation in September for the Chuseok holiday. It was amazing that I even was able to find the tickets at the price I found them; I swear that every Korean and their grandmother is leaving Korea for the holiday. Koreans get so few actual vacation days, and they always work long hours, that when they get the chance to not go to work they take full advantage. Even European packages were sold out for that holiday. However, cheaper plane tickets came at a price: I am arriving to Manila 2 days into my vacation. I will only have about 4 days in the Philippines. However, upon my research I will probably fly from Manila to the Filipino island of Palawan as soon as I arrive due to there being many things to see on Palawan (especially in the nature department). I think I'll make my last day in the Philippines in Manila for some shopping and site seeing.

There is something else I want to talk about; I know that I said in my very first entry on the site that I wasn't going to make this blog personal; rather, this was meant to be an insight into the different cultures and countries I would be in. With that said, there is something I want to share that may be a bit personal, but I think it serves as something to be learned from, not just for myself but for anyone traveling. This is especially important, as I am going to be talking about dating.

As I mentioned a couple of months ago I went on a date with an Iranian. For a while it went well, but things took a turn when he told me he had to make a last-minute trip to Iran to sort out family business. After a week of supposedly being in Iran he completely stopped contacting me. We had been dating roughly a month by this point. I was taking things slow (especially in the emotional department), but at the same time I care about people I get to know, so naturally I was worried. About a month and a half later I went clubbing with Yelena and we ran into some of his friends. After noticing some suspicious chatter and body language I found out that what I thought I knew of the Iranian turned out to not be so true. Without going into details all I will divulge is that I was lied to on multiple levels. As this information was being given to me, it is also important for me to note that many of his friends did not hesitate to hit on me, and one even proclaimed his love for me that very night. After I discussed the matter with some other friends who are more knowledgeable in the ways of Persians, I think perhaps the men of that culture clash with me. As one of my friends said, "Look at their literature. Many themes are centered on deception."

That is not to say that every Iranian is deceitful or a bad person. Indeed, what I went through could have happened with any man from any culture. I do not judge someone based solely on their background/ethnicity/heritage. That was why I dated the Iranian in the first place, despite the hysteria of my own conservative mother. However, to any person reading this, I just want you to be wary of dating someone from a completely different culture, especially if you're a woman and you're anything like me as far as being independent and having big ambitions: that is, the likeliness of it working out is slim. Don't hesitate to try it because it's a good experience, and in the end a good life lesson, but be wary and be cautious; you never know if the person you want to have a relationship with ends up playing you.

-AALA