I’m gonna be a Ninja.

        One of the things keeping my from updating this blog the past few weeks is a new addition to my daily routine: kung fu/tai chi lessons!!  Interestingly enough, kung fu and tai chi are Chinese martial arts, not Korean.  Korea’s national sport is tae kwon do and black belts are not a big deal here because so many people have them.  

Before coming to Korea I wasn’t really interested in learning any martial art except tai chi, because that was the only one that seemed really peaceful, edifying, and noncompetitive (I don’t think that’s actually true, but it seemed that way to me).  Then I came here and one of my co-workers was able to introduce me to a Korean kung fu expert who gives lessons and has a gym within walking distance of my apartment building!  

Thus, I started kung fu/tai chi.  I combine the two, because apparently they are based around the same foundational moves, which I am learning right now.  It’s all a little fuzzy to me because of the language barrier.  I have now learned the bow stance, horse stance, chicken stance, wild goose stance, and tiger stance.  They are all absolutely as awesome as they sound, though I'm afraid I butcher them terribly due to my lack of coordination and awful posture.  

At this point the main part of my lessons is stretching.  I can say the Korean word for “pain” now (stretching hurts!), but I get better every day!  My master is always really encouraging and tells me via google translate, “Great improvement, short time.”  Which I think says more to the fact that I started out with essentially no flexibility whatsoever than to any great skill on my part.  

Our google translate conversations are always a favorite part of my lessons.  My master’s (I honestly don’t know his name and refer to him as Master Shifu or Mister Miagi) main English phrases are “Training!”, “Many difficult?”, “Stretching!”, and “Until today.” which means the lesson is over.  When he realized that I was interested in learning some Korean and could also help him with English he wrote a long sentence into google translate that came out something like, “It hard Korea unless Korean American actor English I help and strive together.” Then he shook my hand, so I think we agreed to help each other with our respective languages.  

Besides the different stances and stretching I have also done a lot of kicking in my lessons.  I am expected to stretch my hand out in front of me or to the side and then kick my palm with the sole of my foot without my leg bending.  Try it.  It’s annoyingly hard, at least for me.  Thankfully I will most likely be able to avoid situations where kung fu kicking is really a necessity... Unless, that is, I develop a super hero alter ego! : DDDD

(Yes, Kimi you will be my Alfred!)

Subway Sojourns

Some of my favorite observations of Korean culture have taken place on my two subway journeys to Seoul (I thought about adding Seoul to the title of this post, but I believe there is such a thing as too much alliteration).  The first time venturing underground and trying to navigate the few hours and several transfers to Korea’s capital was absolutely baffling.  I have been on trains and subways in many states and in London, but the language barrier makes a HUGE difference.  

Not to be over dramatic, but on that first trip the universe conspired against an easy journey to Seoul.  First, we got off at a stop that we thought was where we needed to transfer, but it was actually a stop with the same name plus one syllable.  Then when we were in the place to make the transfer to line 4, there was no line 4.  The numbered stairwells skipped from 3 to 5.  Helpful Koreans with a bit of English knowledge pointed us in the right direction eventually.  Next, we reached a stop that we had been told not to leave the train at.  Unfortunately, it was the end of the line for our train so we had to leave and again reevaluate our position.  Overall, though it was a long, confusing, and tiring trip, the feeling of triumph upon arrival at “Seoul Station” was definitely worth it though.

One of the best parts of riding the subway is watching the people who come through with items to sell.  One man gave a long (Korean) speech on his product, which turned out to be glue.  He also had a board with half a dozen items glued to it, to show the effectiveness of his product.  That one was pretty popular with my fellow riders.  Another man came through with magnifying glasses, and more than one person attempted to peddle socks, which are possibly as popular in Korea as kimchi (that is saying a lot).  My favorite salesperson was a man with a product I couldn’t identify.  He spoke about it at length and I thought it was some sort of newspaper or information packet.  Then to my total surprise, he lifted his pant leg and slapped himself on the leg with it several times.  What he was demonstrating I will never know.   A passenger standing across from me found my reaction extremely amusing, but couldn’t explain in English.

Another interesting hobby within the confines of the subway system is reading and trying to understand Korean shirts.  I don’t think that I have ever seen a shirt here that has Hangul writing on it, but shirts with English words are all the rage.  It seems that matters very little what the English words actually are.  For example, there was a shirt that proudly said “QUEEN OF THE UNIVERSE.” It was worn by a man.  Then there was a shirt that simply stated, “Saturday” it plain font.  Another man sported a lovely T-shirt with “John Deere” written in cursive across it.  My absolute favorite (that I remember, I didn’t take note of a lot of them) was worn by a woman and said, “Dress Your Believe in a Different Golf.” Yes.  I want that shirt.