Soju: I finally got the chance to check out downtown Gwangju last night. I was ecstatic to find that it had much more of a “big city” feel than expected. Compared to Hong Kong, I saw very few foreigners. We took taxis from the orientation compound to a place called “Wa Bar.” I was happy to find that basically the whole group came out that night (we had a huge area and karaoke room reserved). We drank a lot of Soju, a Korean alcohol that kind of tastes like watered down vodka.
I don’t think anyone stayed very sober that night, myself included. However, I was a little disheartened by the lack of control some people have when they are drunk and abroad. I always try consciously hard not to judge people, but it’s hard for me not to when I observe others in that kind of atmosphere. Sometimes I wonder if drinking brings out the true colors in people that they’ve been hiding all along. For instance, boys who are normally fine but get drunk and can only focus on hitting on girls. Or, individuals who think it’s okay to cheat on their significant other/spouse because they are in another country. I don’t know why, seeing stuff like that really gets me down…especially when I see it within the first week of knowing people. That isn’t to say that it still wasn’t a great night...
The Goat: For instance, someone put this little guy in Jen’s and my bathroom last night. Luckily, he didn’t seem to have any “accidents” from what we could see. After a good laugh, a group of us returned him to his rightful place not far from the compound. I’m still surprised no one in charge found out. Today was a free day. As a result, the group and I went to Baekyangsa Area of Naejangsan National Park to visit Buddhist temples. It was very beautiful, even in the rain. Unfortunately, I can barely see out of my camera because the backlight burnt out. I don’t have a viewfinder either, so usually only half my photos turn out decent. Here's one that turned out okay:
After that, we went to a ridiculously huge department store that probably should’ve been a mall. Since the prices were equally ridiculous, a few of went to the E-Mart across the street for some camp necessities. The E-Mart had several floors, with moving walkways that people could put their shopping carts on.
The Creepster: I was behind two of my guy friends on one of the moving walkways when I felt someone’s hand brushing against my rear. I didn’t think much of it, since Korea is so crowded and people tend to give much less personal space because of it. Then I felt the same hand tap against my side, ambiguously unintentional (my first thought: is someone trying to pickpocket me?). When this happened, I looked around. I was stunned to find that there were no other people behind me—just one middle-aged Korean man standing awkwardly close. When he saw me turn, he stroked my arm. Then he raised his eyebrows and gave me the “I want you” look. A moment later, the walkway ended.
The incident gave me a mix of feelings. Not only was I creeped out, I was extremely offended. I wondered why he did it. More specifically, I wondered if it was because I’m an American girl. Going abroad has definitely taught me something about the “American girl” stereotype. Men in other countries don’t hit on Americans because they find us beautiful (as our vain minds would love to think), but because they assume we are “easy.” After all, that’s how Western media portrays us American women, isn’t it? Sultry, sexy women who drink lots of alcohol, enter wet T-shirt contests and don’t say “no.”
If I could do it all over, I’d scream at him for everyone to hear.
Dinner tonight remind me of Hot Pot in Hong Kong, except Korean style. We gathered plates of raw food and cooked them in pots on the table. Afterwards, I ate watermelon. I’ve had watermelon at literally every meal so far in S. Korea. What’s interesting about this is that a watermelon in S. Korea costs between eleven and fifteen dollars. I guess that means I’m pretty VIP. Apologies for another very long entry. Only two more days until I leave for camp in Yeongnam!
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5 comments:
I think the goat is very cute and i hope it found its momma!
As for all the bad men... remember that people do not do anything when they are drunk, that they would not do when they are sober.
The creep needed a knee to his balls, remember you self-defense.
Considering women aren't even allowed to smoke in public here, I'm not sure if the knee to the balls would've gone over so well...but I agree.
Hi Leah, love your blog! It's Lisa, Danni Ritter's mom. I"ve passed the link on to Danni, I'm sure she'll enjoy it too!
Your story about the man on the escalator reminded me of a time when I was 17, going to school in Luxembourg and walking home from the disco at 2am, alone. A man started walking parallel to me across the street and then suddenly crossed the street and came up next to me as we were in front of some houses. I started yelling and screaming at the top of my lungs. He was definitely startled and immediately went the opposite direction. Scared the hell out of me! I'll never forget it!
Hey, Leah, don't be afraid to draw attention by hollering NO or back off or whatever. Men like that will assume you won't react in public because you don't want to make a scene. And they don't want to be found out either. I don't care what country your in, be aware, be loud then get away quick.
Your learning alot-and I'm not just talking about geography.
oh man, you're getting hit on by middle-aged asian men. actually, i'm not surprised that happened, because stuff like that happens all the time in japan, in crowded trains during rush hour and stuff. there's always incidents of creepy guys brushing up against high school girls, just like what happened to you, and most of the times i hear that girls just freeze up & forget to scream, just like you. so eh, be careful. go ahead and knee them in the balls.
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