Fish Market Fun House!

The weeks keep going faster, which means my time keeps getting to be less and less. I feel like I was just writing my 'six month mark' entry and now, I'm down to four months. Unbelievable!

This week I took my first ever half sick day on Tuesday. Funny thing is, by our contract, we don't get sick days. A bit strange, but I taught the first half of the day until my supervisor sent me home after Kindergarten. The hard part about going home is that your co-workers loose their prep hour to cover your classes, so it actually makes you feel bad for going home when you really are sick. So a big thanks goes out to those who covered my classes for me! I'll spare you the details and tell you that I had a 24 vomiting flu. By the weekend, I was more than ready EAT.

On Friday night Britney, Shauna, and I headed to the Coex Mall with plans to see a movie. After much of our regular indecisiveness, we decided to just do dinner instead. We enjoyed a long dinner of conversation and laughs over nachos and pizza.

Saturday was a bit more adventurous (for me anyway) and exciting. Let me first tell you that I don't like fish. I don't like to touch fish. I don't like the smell. I don't like the taste. As we were about to get off the bus in Seoul, I asked Shauna, "So where are we going today anyway?" "This fish market!" "What?!" "I thought you knew." "I didn't, but okay!" I was up for the experience, and quite the experience it was! We liked to call it the Fish Fun House. Let me tell you why. I entered the warehouse style building with my pants rolled up and my nose plugged. Tank after tank was filled with fish, crab, shells, octopus, and a whole lot of other unidentifiable water creatures. Some fish got camera shy and splashed us good while octopus slithered out of their buckets and got stabbed...not a smart choice to leave the team! It looked like everyone was selling the same thing so we began to wonder how anyone made any money. Some people arranged their fish or held them up for us to take pictures while others were less than cooperative. Usually Koreans don't bother talking to foreigners unless they know we need help, but here it seemed like anyone who spoke any English wanted to talk to us. One guy even recognized Minnesota when he used the phrase "Minnesota Twins, Korea Twins...same same!" Other commons phrases included: "Where are you from?" (the one question every Korean knows) "Nice to meet you!" "Beautiful!" and even "I LOVE YOU!" At first we thought everyone was so nice. Then...the fun (house) began! We suddenly felt like at the moment we entered the market, a secret message had been sent to all the workers saying, "Take your positions...here come the foreigners!" Enjoy some of the humorous and a bit disturbing things that went on in the "Fish Fun House."

*Event #1: Britney and Shauna got their shots of an octopus, but when I stepped up, one of the male workers snapped the cover of his lighter in my face! I thought he was angry that I was taking a picture so I backed off, but the girls said that he had arranged it so that we could take photos. So, I stepped back up to take a picture again, when he snapped the lighter cover a second time practically brushing my face! This time he started laughing while his partner kept yelling, "Bulgarian!" His friend proceeded to follow me and put his arm around my shoulders as we walked away, telling me that his friend was crazy. "Yeah, thanks...already discovered that with the lighter in my face!" (And that's why I'm leaving now.)

*Event #2: As we watched an octopus work its way over the edge of a bucket, Shauna decided to video tape the event. The women kept staring at us unpleasantly as we tried to show her by our pointing giggles that he was about to get out...we didn't want another one to get stabbed! She didn't care. As he plopped over the edge onto the floor, I jumped back screaming while Shauna kept taping the big guy on the floor. The lady walked over and with no fear picked it up. She didn't stab it or put it right back in the bucket. Instead she gave it a little toss towards Shauna's face as if she were going to throw it at her! Then, she kindly put it back in the bucket and walked away, surely thinking "idots!" Imagine if that eight legged creature slipped from the lady's hand...octopus in the face for Shauna!

*Event #3: A worker waved at me, so I waved back...I'm friendly like that and love talking to the people. I don't know what part of the wave suggested that we were hungry because he came quickly towards Shauna trying to shove a peanut in her mouth. No way was she letting that in, so after multiple playful yet forceful attempts, he tried Britney who just ran away. So then there was me. He must have really wanted to share his nuts because he put me in a HEAD LOCK (no joke) and tried shoving the nuts in my mouth. I probably shouldn't have been, but I was laughing so hard that I could hardly breathe as I covered my mouth with my hands. I seriously had to use my lifeguard escape to get away! Can you imagine not only how long those nuts had been in his hand but how unclean and FISHY his little fingers that were trying to shove those nuts in our mouths were? DISGUSTING! Although we knew he was just being overly playful, as we all started scurrying away, we noticed that all the other workers around were just laughing at us. Not one person tried to stop a 30 year old man from physically forcing food into our faces...it was practically assault and they all just stood and laughed. Just goes to show how male dominated the culture still is that no one (male or female) did a thing to help us.

Those descriptions don't even begin to describe the actual moments when we seriously starting thinking that everyone was plotting against us. When we got to the other end, we realized there was no way out but to go back through the building to where we entered. This time, we took an alternative route through the back of the building, avoiding all the "fun!" We definitely had a good time, and couldn't help but laugh about our eventful Fish Market Fun House adventure.

We ended our evening at a park in Seoul where there are lots of young people and impromptu performers entertaining the crowds. We had a delicious Chinese dinner followed by coffee and some street shopping. Shauna and Britney stayed later while I headed home a bit chilled by the evening cool.

That being said, there have been jokes in the office lately that since so many English teachers are from Minnesota, we may have brought the cold weather to Korea with us giving everyone at home an early and warm spring while we are still waiting for the season to arrive here. Although it doesn't feel quite like spring yet, it sure is beginning to look like it. The Cherry Blossom trees are in bloom everywhere making for a beautiful walk wherever you go. However, I'm afraid we might skip spring and jump right into the heat of summer, which I wouldn't completely mind as I'm looking forward to some weekend trips down South for some beach time. So, if spring never makes it here, please enjoy the beautiful weather back home for me!