It’s best to do a search based on your particular interests, since Seoul has a lot to offer. I liked that people sat in available spaces next to me on the train. I liked that they did not stand because it’s said they’re trying to be polite or don’t want to disturb you, but feels like they’re racist cunts. I also liked the busy vibe in Myeondong one of the top ten places to see in Seoul.
Seoul is a so-called city that never sleeps, perhaps because it’s filled with university students, and the spicy food encouraged me to make assumptions about the people’s collective personality.
The Food
Korean food was a new experience for me. There’s something intimate regarding how you eat some dishes like Ssam with your hands and share others. The silver chop sticks slip a lot more than wooden Japanese ones (but probably save trees) and the body art on thugs I pulled into bathroom stalls in the clubs is lickable.
The “Without Permission” Part
The title of this post is pretty self-explanatory. We’re (the English teachers on my programme) not supposed to travel without permission, but we did anyway. What a thing to be one of the boys, to feel included for who I am, not shunned for who I maybe sleep with! A special thank you to Thom, Rob, Dale, Malcolm, Steve, Tyler, Steward, Nori and the Daniels around whom I feel accepted when most myself.
Three from the above group and I return from our unsanctioned weekend trip to South Korea, to have one of the other Assistant Language Teachers (ALTs) ruin sneaking off for all of us. Landing late in Japan, she missed the Opening Ceremony (another huge Japanese waste of time) at work and outed us all, saying she wasn’t the only one enjoying her life!
You know who you are MIMI NGUYEN!
Passports…. The Board of Education wanted us to hand our passports over to our supervisors so they could check the travel stamps to verify they coincided with sanctioned travel time!
Woe to those ALTS who had tumultuous relationships with their bosses. Some (the Americans) decided it was an infringement of their right to privacy, and, whether they’d broken the rules or not, banded together, refusing to acquiesce. Others “lost” their passports, others simply kept saying “I forgot to bring it today” and, others still, had the kind of relationship with their supervisors where the latter didn’t even bother to ask to see the passport.
I won’t reveal my case. Suffice to say, this has occurred during my last year and I have been taking three-hour lunch breaks to give myself time to ride home (it’s a five minute ride), eat and strip naked for a siesta.
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